Maule M-5-235C accident near Grand Junction, Colorado, January 13, 2002
On January 13, 2002 at about 10:15 pm local time, a Maule M-5-235C, registered N382X, was substantially damaged in an accident near Grand Junction, Colorado (Walker Field). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
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.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- January 13, 2002 · about 10:15 pm local time
- Place
- Grand Junction, Colorado · Walker Field · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Maule M-5-235C · all M-5-235Cs on the register
- Registration
- N382X · registry record · serial 7021C
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
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 complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
Pilot
- Certificate: flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: single-engine land; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 1,361 hours in all; 652 in this make and model; 36 in the last 90 days; 6 in the last 30 days; 1,194 as pilot in command; 158 on instruments
- Last flight review: January 17, 2001
- Medical certificate: Class 2
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 1,664 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, July 15, 2001; 35 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,300 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-540 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: GJT Grand Junction CO at 9:30 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 29, 10,501 ft by 150 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 290° at 16 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 43°F (6°C), dew point 12°F (-11°C)
- Altimeter: 30.05 inHg
- Observation at 9:56 pm from GJT
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), has not been read from the NTSB for this case yet; the list appears here once it has. Open the docket at the NTSB.
Everything on this page comes from the NTSB's public records. The narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words; the coded tables behind the report are written out in plain English, with pilots' ages, home towns and medical details left out. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, shown as the NTSB released them. This site's own text never names anyone involved. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.