Piper PA22 N4837Z

Summary

On 16 March 2020 at about 23:20 local time, a Piper PA22 registered N4837Z was involved in an accident near Pinedale, Wyoming, United States. 2 people were on board and one was seriously injured, one had minor injuries. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

16 March 2020 at 23:20

Classification

Accident

Location

Pinedale, Wyoming, United States

Nearest airport

Ralph Wenz Field (PNA)

Coordinates

42.7969, -109.8106

Aircraft

Piper PA22

Registration

N4837Z

Category

Airplane

Year built

1961

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Pinedale → Pinedale

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

WPR20LA110

1 person was seriously injured.

A loss of airplane control during approach for reasons that could not be determined based on available evidence.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The student pilot reported that he was drifting to the right while on approach to land when the flight instructor took over controls. The flight instructor reported that he applied rudder control inputs; however, the rudder pedals didn’t move for about 6 to 7 seconds and the airplane did not align with the runway. The flight instructor reported that he thought that the glareshield mounted tachometer timing box could have been trapped behind the rudder pedals. The tachometer timing box was located at the accident site and had been thrown from the wreckage. A portion of the instrument panel mounted tachometer housing was found behind the rudder pedals. Further examination of the tachometer gauge revealed damage consisted with impact damage as a result of the accident and did not appear to have interfered with the movement of the rudder pedals. Examination revealed no anomalies with the airframe that would have precluded normal operation. Multiple examinations of the rudder system did not reveal any evidence of a rudder malfunction or jam.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.