Ryan Field Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Tucson, Arizona 85746
Saturday, May 14, 2005 18:00 MST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

During the instructional flight in which landings were practiced, one or more touchdowns was firm, and the left wing sustained structural damage. The flight instructor stated that he had performed a total of 15-16 landings in the plane that day with two different students. The purpose of the second flight was to practice short field and 180-degree power off landings for the student's commercial practical exam. The 10th landing of that flight was a 180-degree power off landing that the CFI was demonstrating. He made a touch-and-go following a landing on the 1000-foot markers, and raised the landing gear after obtaining a positive rate of climb. After the gear were raised, the landing gear transition light was still illuminated. He cycled the gear a few more times without solving the problem. They made a full stop and both pilots visually inspected the gear. They could not find anything wrong with the switches and deferred the problem to maintenance. Maintenance personnel examined the gear system and found wing ribs buckled near the left main gear. This prevented the up-limit switch from closing, which prevented the light from functioning normally. They stated that either a hard landing or a landing with excessive side loading could have caused the damage.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

the improper flare by an undetermined crewmember, which resulted in a hard landing.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 5/14/2005
Event Day of the Week Saturday
Time of Event 1800
Event Time Zone Mountain Standard Time
Event City Tucson
Event State ARIZONA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 85746
Event Date Year 2005
Event Date Month 5
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 320809N
Event Location Longitude 1111028W
Event Location Airport Ryan Field Airport
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 0
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation 2417
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1755 Mountain Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) --
Weather Observation Facility ID RYN
Elevation of weather observation facility --
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) --
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) 32
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) -1
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 360
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 13
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29.75
Density Altitude (feet) --
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 2
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 18298
NTSB Notification Source FAA
NTSB Notification Date May 17 2005 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Sep 13 2005 12:54PM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\JOHB
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office WP-SDL-FSDO

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N55069
NTSB Number LAX05CA181
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
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 --
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Piper
Aircraft Model PA-28R-200
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 28R-7335177
Certified Max Gross Weight 2578
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class --
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 100 Hour
Date of Last Inspection Mar 1 2005 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 100
Airframe Hours 7942
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name International Airline Training Academy, Inc.
Aircraft Owner Street Address HC 2 Box 278
Aircraft Owner City Tucson
Aircraft Owner State AZ
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 85735
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) Instructional
Second Pilot on Board Yes
Departure Point Same as Event Yes
Departure Airport Code RYN
Departure City Tucson
Departure State AZ
Departure Country USA
Departure Time --
Departure Time Zone PDT
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code RYN
Destination City Tucson
Destination State AZ
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Landing
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Jun 24 2005 11:27AM
User who most recently changed record COOS
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location 06R
Runway Length 5500
Runway Width 75
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --