Reno Stead Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Reno, Nevada 89503
Saturday, May 11, 2002 14:50 PDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The tail-wheel equipped airplane veered off runway 8 and ground looped while landing with a 4-knot left crosswind component. The pilot stated that he intended to do a few pattern circuits to practice takeoffs and landings. The accident happened on the first landing. Just after touchdown, the airplane hit what the pilot described as some sort of hump in the pavement and bounced up in the air again. He added some power to cushion the touchdown and the airplane veered off the runway and into the infield area. It touched down in the dirt and he was unable to regain control before the airplane ground looped. The pilot said he is not certain, but he thinks he may have encountered a gust of wind that helped induce the loss of control. He stated that there were no mechanical malfunctions or failures that preceded the loss of control. An FAA inspector reported that there is a small hump in the pavement near the approach end of runway 8.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

Failure of the pilot to maintain directional control. A factor was the hump in the runway.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 5/11/2002
Event Day of the Week Saturday
Time of Event 1450
Event Time Zone Pacific Daylight Time
Event City Reno
Event State NEVADA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 89503
Event Date Year 2002
Event Date Month 5
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 394002N
Event Location Longitude 1195232W
Event Location Airport Reno Stead
Event Location Nearest Airport ID 4SD
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 5046
Weather Briefing Completeness Unknown
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1446 Pacific Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) --
Weather Observation Facility ID 4SD
Elevation of weather observation facility 5046
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) --
Time Zone of the weather observation PDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height --
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height --
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Clear
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling None
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 16
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) --
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 30
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 7
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 0
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.17
Density Altitude (feet) 6120
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury None
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None 1
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 14053
NTSB Notification Source
NTSB Notification Date May 11 2002 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1605
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Sep 30 2003 9:55AM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\MONR
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office WP-FSDO-Reno, NV

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N3772A
NTSB Number LAX02LA158
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? No
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Piper
Aircraft Model PA-22-135
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 22-2014
Certified Max Gross Weight 1950
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 Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Sep 26 2001 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 10
Airframe Hours 2298
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Raymond A. Craft
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City Reno
Aircraft Owner State NV
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 89503
Operator is an individual? No
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? --
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation --
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) Personal
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event Yes
Departure Airport Code 4SD
Departure City Reno
Departure State NV
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1445
Departure Time Zone PDT
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? No
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record Jul 22 2003 4:50PM
User who most recently changed record COOS
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location 8
Runway Length 7600
Runway Width 150
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --