Piper PA-22-135 N3772A

Summary

On 11 May 2002 at about 21:50 local time, a Piper PA-22-135 registered N3772A was involved in an accident near Reno, Nevada, United States. One person was 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

11 May 2002 at 21:50

Classification

Accident

Location

Reno, Nevada, United States

Nearest airport

Reno Stead (4SD)

Coordinates

39.6672, -119.8756

Aircraft

Piper PA-22-135

Registration

N3772A

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Reno → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

LAX02LA158

Nobody was injured.

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

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

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.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.