Ryan Field Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Tucson, Arizona 85701
Friday, December 11, 1998 16:00 MST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The purpose of the flight was to conduct a proficiency check. The flight instructor demonstrated a soft field landing from the right seat. On the landing rollout the airplane veered to the right. The airplane was configured with left-hand toe brakes only. Brakes on the right side are optional, and this particular airplane did not come equipped with right side brakes. He was unable to regain control of the airplane and it continued off of the runway and the gear collapsed. The flight instructor felt that the student pilot panicked and he did not respond quickly enough to the situation. He believed that the pilot continued to apply incorrect inputs into the steering and brakes to control the airplane. The airplane's landing gear and braking system were inspected, as well as the airplane maintenance logs, no discrepancies were noted.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

Failure of the instructor pilot to maintain directional control and properly supervise the landing. A contributing factor was the unavailability of brakes on the instructor's side (the right side) of the airplane.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 12/11/1998
Event Day of the Week Friday
Time of Event 1600
Event Time Zone Mountain Standard Time
Event City TUCSON
Event State ARIZONA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 85701
Event Date Year 1998
Event Date Month 12
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude
Event Location Longitude
Event Location Airport RYAN FIELD
Event Location Nearest Airport ID RYN
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport On Airport
Distance from airport in statute miles --
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation 2403
Weather Briefing Completeness Not pertinent
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1626 Mountain Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 0
Weather Observation Facility ID RYN
Elevation of weather observation facility 2403
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 0
Time Zone of the weather observation MST
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 0
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 0
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Clear
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling None
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) 0
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) 0
Visibility (Statute Miles) 40
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 15
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 3
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 330
Variable Wind Indicator Unknown
Wind Speed (knots) 4
Wind Velocity Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 0
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation Unknown
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury None
On Ground, Fatal Injuries 0
On Ground, Minor Injuries 0
On Ground, Serious Injuries 0
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None 2
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 1926
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date Dec 11 1998 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1600
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Dec 11 2000 11:55AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N9320N
NTSB Number LAX99LA046
Missing Aircraft Indicator N
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? --
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Piper
Aircraft Model PA-28R-200
Aircraft Series Identifier PA-28R-200
Aircraft Serial Number 28R-35020
Certified Max Gross Weight 2600
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class U.S. Registered/U.S. Soil
Aircraft is a homebuilt? No
Flight Crew Seats --
Cabin Crew Seats --
Passenger Seats --
Total number of seats on the aircraft 4
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Retractable
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection --
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours --
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name RICK AND THEOPHANE SAITAS
Aircraft Owner Street Address 352 W. DESERT TULIP CT.
Aircraft Owner City TUCSON
Aircraft Owner State AZ
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 82745
Operator is an individual? --
Operator Name
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address
Operator City
Operator State
Operator Country
Operator Zip code
Operator Code
Owner has at least one certificate None
Other Operator of large aircraft? No
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation Unknown
Operator Certificate Number --
Indicates whether an air carrier operation was scheduled or not --
Indicates Domestic or International Flight --
Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail --
Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) Instructional
Second Pilot on Board Yes
Departure Point Same as Event Yes
Departure Airport Code RYN
Departure City
Departure State AZ
Departure Country
Departure Time 1530
Departure Time Zone MST
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code
Destination City
Destination State
Destination Country
Specific Phase of Flight Landing
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Jan 2 2001 10:30AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location 6R
Runway Length 5500
Runway Width 75
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --