- Date
- September 10, 2011, 07:55 local (14:55 UTC)
- Place
- Show Low, AZ
- Injuries
- 1 minor
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N40625Maule M-4-220C
- Defining event
- Landing-flare/touchdown: Loss of control on ground
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report October 9, 2014
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Western Pacific Region
- Parties
- Federal Aviation Administration
- FAA report
- 20110910020109A
- Case key
- 81768
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 pilot’s failure to maintain directional control during the landing, which resulted in a ground loop.
Findings · 2
NTSB’s coded findings. Those marked are part of the probable cause; the rest are factors or other findings. Under each, the cases with the same finding.
Sequence of events
The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event is the one that best describes the accident. Under each, the cases with the same event anywhere in their sequence.
Analysis
The pilot reported that, after touchdown, the airplane immediately turned hard right and that he then applied engine power. The airplane subsequently exited the runway while still turning right and came to rest on its left side. A postaccident examination of the airplane and the braking system revealed no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation.
Factual narrative
On September 10, 2011, about 0755 mountain standard time, a Maule M-4-220C, N40625, ground looped after landing at the Show Low Regional Airport (SOW), Show Low, Arizona. The pilot/owner operated the airplane under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as a personal flight. The pilot, the sole occupant, received minor injuries. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the left wing. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the cross-country flight that departed a private airstrip in Roll, Arizona. A visual flight rules (VFR) flight plan had been filed. The flight departed from Roll at 0555 the morning of the accident.The pilot reported that after touchdown the airplane immediately turned hard to the right and he applied engine power. The airplane subsequently exited the runway still turning to the right and came to rest on its left side. The pilot's side door was broken, injuring the pilot's arm. A post accident examination of the airplane's brakes and flight controls revealed no mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N40625
- Reported as
- Maule M-4-220C
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 2146C
- Airframe hours
- 2,070
- Engine
- Franklin 6A-350SER, 220 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Unknown
- Last inspection
- Annual · March 27, 2011
- Departed
- Roll, AZ
- Destination
- SOW · Show Low, AZ
- Flight plan
- VFR
- Airport
- SOW · Show Low Regional Airport, runway 06, 7,200 × 100 ft, asphalt
- Equipment
- Stall warning system
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
- Pilot
- Age
- 67
- Injuries
- Minor
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, With waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- May 14, 2011
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 1,388 total · 1,330 in this make and model · 1,315 as pilot in command
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 30° at 3 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 59 °F, dew point 46 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.25 inHg
- Observed at
- SOW
Docket · 2
The files NTSB released with the investigation on August 14, 2014, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 660 KB in all.
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.
Other investigations on N40625 · 2
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.