Chandler Municipal Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Chandler, Arizona 85282
Friday, March 21, 2003 16:40 MST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The tail-wheel equipped airplane sustained substantial damage when the pilot ground looped it during the landing roll. The student pilot flared high and touched down hard on the main wheels and bounced back into the air. The pilot attempted to recover by lowering the nose and executing a three-point landing. The airplane touched down again with the nose pointing to the left of the runway centerline. Unable to return the airplane back to runway heading, the pilot continued to the left and departed the runway into a dirt area. The airplane ground looped, with the right wing tip and right elevator making contact with the ground. The pilot did not report any mechanical problems with the airplane prior to the accident.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The student pilot's improper flare and his failure to maintain directional control. A contributing factor is the student pilot's improper recovery from a bounced landing.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 3/21/2003
Event Day of the Week Friday
Time of Event 1640
Event Time Zone Mountain Standard Time
Event City Chandler
Event State ARIZONA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 85282
Event Date Year 2003
Event Date Month 3
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 331600N
Event Location Longitude 1114800W
Event Location Airport Chandler Municipal Airport
Event Location Nearest Airport ID CHD
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport On Airport
Distance from airport in statute miles 0
Degrees magnetic from airport 0
Airport Elevation 1243
Weather Briefing Completeness Not pertinent
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1653 Mountain Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 150
Weather Observation Facility ID SDL
Elevation of weather observation facility 1510
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 22
Time Zone of the weather observation MST
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) 23
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 3
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 250
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 9
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29.96
Density Altitude (feet) 2778
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) 16917
NTSB Notification Source faa
NTSB Notification Date Mar 21 2003 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1713
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Dec 28 2004 12:45PM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\JOHB
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office WP-FSDO- SCOTTSDALE

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N2474Z
NTSB Number LAX03LA115
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-18-135
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 18-3592
Certified Max Gross Weight 1500
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 2
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection 100 Hour
Date of Last Inspection Dec 31 2002 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 85
Airframe Hours 2413
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name MARCUS B. PAINE
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City Anchorage
Aircraft Owner State AK
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 99511-077
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name Chandler Air Service, Inc.
Operator Same as Owner? No
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? No
Operator Street Address 1675 E. RYAN RD.
Operator City CHANDLER
Operator State AZ
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 85249
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) Instructional
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event Yes
Departure Airport Code CHD
Departure City Chandler
Departure State AZ
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1625
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 - roll
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record Oct 28 2004 5:04PM
User who most recently changed record RICJ
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location 04R
Runway Length 4850
Runway Width 75
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --