Primary finding
Probable cause
the student pilot's failure to maintain directional control of the airplane, which resulted in an inadvertent ground loop. Factors relating to the accident were: the student pilot's inadequate training and lack of certification (endorsement).
Investigator assessment
Analysis narrative
The student pilot lost directional control and inadvertently ground looped the airplane after practicing touch-and-go landings and takeoffs. The student received dual instruction in the airplane about 2 months before the accident, but he did not receive the appropriate endorsement to solo the accident airplane. Postaccident examination disclosed no evidence of any preexisting malfunction or failure. The student pilot reported that the surface winds were slightly breezy.
Source record
Factual narrative
On August 4, 1996, at 0630 hours mountain standard time, a Cessna A185F, N2431Y, lost directional control during the landing rollout on runway 05 at Casa Grande Airport, Casa Grande, Arizona. The pilot was completing a visual flight rules personal flight. The airplane, operated by Southwest Industrial Rigging, Casa Grande, sustained substantial damage. The noncertificated student pilot, the sole occupant, was not injured. The flight originated at the University of Arizona airstrip, Maricopa, Arizona, at 0620. This accident was initially reported as an incident. During the repair, maintenance personnel found major structural damage. The pilot told an Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector from the Scottsdale, Arizona, Flight Standards District Office that he initially departed Chandler, Arizona, airport about 0545 hours, and flew to the University of Arizona airstrip and executed six touch-and-go landings and takeoffs. He then flew to Casa Grande Airport. He said that he inadvertently "ground looped" the airplane on the landing roll and that the surface winds were "slightly breezy." The FAA inspector reported that the student pilot did not have the appropriate solo endorsement for the accident airplane. The inspector stated, however, that conversations with the student pilot's previous instructors confirmed that he received some dual instruction in the accident airplane about 2 months prior to the accident. -