Colorado Aviation Accidents & Incidents

On January 13, 2002, at approximately 1515 mountain standard time, a Maule M-5-235C, N382X, was substantially damaged during a ground loop on landing roll at Grand Junction, Colorado. The commercial pilot, the sole occupant in the airplane, was not injured. The pilot was operating the airplane under Title 14 CFR Part 91. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the local flight which had originated approximately 45 minutes before the accident. The pilot had not filed a flight plan.

The pilot said that during a touch and go landing, he heard a "bang." The left rudder pedal went to the floor, and the airplane ground looped to the right. The left wing was bent up for the outboard 12 feet of the wing. Postaccident examination of the airplane's left tail wheel steering cable revealed that a swaged attachment had separated. the failure of the tail wheel left steering cable. A contributing factor was the pilot's loss of aircraft control (not possible) and the subsequent inadvertent ground loop.