- Date
- November 11, 2007, 16:22 local (23:22 UTC)
- Place
- Overgaard, AZ
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N31495Maule MX-7-180A
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report January 31, 2008
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- Federal Aviation Administration
- FAA report
- 20071111828869A
- Case key
- 67142
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Probable cause
The student pilot's failure to maintain directional control during the landing roll.
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Analysis
During the landing roll, the tail wheel configured airplane veered off the right side of the runway, down a steep embankment, and across soft terrain, before the right wing tip collided with a tree. The student pilot stated that after landing, he lost directional control of the airplane. He said he had accumulated 112 hours in this type of airplane but recently had only accumulated 10 landings within the last 90 days. The pilot reported that the airplane and engine had no mechanical failures or malfunctions during the flight.
Factual narrative
On November 11, 2007, about 1622 mountain standard time, a Maule MX-7-180A, N31495, collided with a tree after veering off the runway at Mogollon Airpark, Overgaard, Arizona. The student pilot operated the airplane under the provisions of 14 CFR Part 91. The pilot was not injured, and the airplane sustained substantial damage. The cross-country personal flight departed Phoenix Deer Valley Airport, Phoenix Arizona, about 1520, with a planned destination of Mogollon Airpark. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan had been filed.
The pilot stated, in the Pilot/Operator Aircraft Accident Report, that after landing, he lost directional control of the airplane. The airplane veered off runway 21 to the right, descended a short embankment, and crossed a swale. The right wing tip contacted a tree and rotated the airplane 30 to 40 degrees to the right. The fuselage, right main gear, and the right wing tip were substantially damaged. The pilot further stated that the embankment and swale was steep and abrupt, and that he expected the airplane to nose over. His estimated speed was about 15 mph. The pilot also reported a moderate crosswind from the left when he exited the airplane.
According to the pilot, he had over 100 landings in the month after his solo on July 13, 2007, but only had 10 landings in the 90 days preceding the accident.
An aviation routine weather report (METAR) for Mogollon Airpark was issued at 1655. It stated: winds from 240 degrees at 6 knots; temperature 58 degrees Fahrenheit; dew point 26 degrees Fahrenheit; altimeter 30.02 inHg.
According to the Mogollon Airpark Home Owner's Association president, runway 21 is 3,420 feet long and 50 feet wide. It also has an overrun of 1,200 feet in length and 30 feet in width. The runway surface is asphalt.
The pilot stated that the airplane and engine had no mechanical failures or malfunctions during the flight.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N31495
- Reported as
- Maule MX-7-180A
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 20032C
- Airframe hours
- 1,452
- Engine
- Lycoming O-360-C4F, 180 hp, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- William L. Comstock
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · May 1, 2007
- Departed
- KDVT · Deer Valley, AZ
- Destination
- AZ82 · Overgaard, AZ
- Airport
- AZ82 · Mogollon Airpark, runway 21, 3,420 × 50 ft, asphalt
Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Student pilot
- Age
- 51
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Student
- Medical
- Class 3
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 115 total · 112 in this make and model · 44 as pilot in command · 25 in the last 90 days · 2 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 240° at 6 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 57 °F, dew point 30 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.02 inHg
- Observed at
- AZ82
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.