- Date
- April 6, 2022, 14:45 local (21:45 UTC)
- Place
- Tuscon, AZ · Airport
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N733EJCessna 172N
- Defining event
- Landing-flare/touchdown: Loss of control on ground
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Investigation class
- Class 4 - Basic report with no Prelim publish
- NTSB office
- Western Pacific Region
- Parties
- Federal Aviation Administration
- FAA report
- 20220406005469A
- Case key
- 104911
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 loss of directional control during the landing roll, due to missing hardware which resulted in the separation of the nose landing gear torque links.
Findings · 3
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 of the airplane reported that, during the landing roll the airplane veered left unexpectedly. The pilot applied corrective action with rudder input, but the airplane continued to veer left, exited the left side of the runway, impacted a ditch, and nosed over. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the right-wing lift strut, vertical stabilizer and rudder. Postaccident examination of the airplane revealed that, the bolt, spacer, nut and cotter pin connecting the upper torque link and the lower torque link was missing and not observed with the wreckage. It further revealed that the upper and lower torque links were not damaged. Damage to the nose gear and the right main gear was consistent with impact damage when the airplane exited the runway and impacted a ditch. A review of the airplane maintenance records did not reveal any recent maintenance conducted on the nose landing gear torque links.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N733EJ
- Reported as
- Cessna 172N
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 17268235
- Built
- 1976
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320, 160 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Pacific Contractors LLC
- Registered owner
- Pacific Contractors LLC
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal; Standard, Utility
- Last inspection
- Annual · March 17, 2022
- Departed
- KAVQ · Marana, AZ
- Destination
- E60 · Eloy, AZ
- Airport
- RYN · Ryan Field Airport, runway 33, 4,010 × 75 ft, asphalt
- Equipment
- Handheld GPS, ADS-B
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
- 70
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, With waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- January 27, 2022
- Seat
- Left
- Restraint
- 4-point
- Flight hours
- 3,100 total · 1,000 in this make and model · 2,946 as pilot in command · 48 in the last 90 days · 40 in the last 30 days · 1.3 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 310° at 10 knots, gusting 17
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 88 °F, dew point 23 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- KRYN, 1 nm away
- METAR
- KRYN 062147Z 31010G17KT 10SM CLR 31/M05 A3000
Docket · 3
The files NTSB released with the investigation on June 30, 2022, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 20.3 MB 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.