Cessna 305A N5188G

Summary

On 23 March 2001 at about 22:50 local time, a Cessna 305A registered N5188G was involved in an accident near Winslow, Arizona, United States. 2 people were on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

23 March 2001 at 22:50

Classification

Accident

Location

Winslow, Arizona, United States

Nearest airport

Winslow-Lindbergh Regional (INW)

Coordinates

35.0219, -110.7225

Aircraft

Cessna 305A

Registration

N5188G

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Needles → Winslow

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

LAX01LA128

Nobody was injured.

The student's inadvertent restriction of the rudder pedal's movement during landing rollout precipitated the loss of directional control and ground loop. A finding was that remedial action by the CFI was not possible due to the student’s control interference.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

The student made a normal landing with his CFI in the conventional gear airplane that the student had recently purchased. Seconds after touchdown the airplane started turning slowly to the left. The CFI applied rudder pressure for the correction, but was unable to move the right rudder pedal more than 3 or 4 inches. The left turn continued, and the CFI shouted for the student to "get off the controls." The CFI reported that he pushed "very hard" on the right rudder in an effort to stop the turn to the left. However, the right rudder would not move farther regardless of the force applied. The turn to the left continued to accelerate. Directional control was subsequently lost, and as the airplane ground looped the right wing tip touched the ground and the right wheel separated from the strut at the axle. The investigation revealed that the student's shoe size is 14, he weighs about 250 pounds, and he is 6 feet 6 inches tall. During rollout the student's left foot had slipped off the rudder pedal. It had become jammed between the top portion of the pedal and the console, thus restricting the pedal's movement. This control interference resulted in the CFI's inability to take corrective action to preclude the loss of control.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.