Nord 3202 accident near Casa Grande, Arizona, October 22, 2005
On October 22, 2005 at about 11:30 pm local time, a Nord 3202, registered N22532, was substantially damaged in an accident near Casa Grande, Arizona (Casa Grande airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was killed. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
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The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
the pilot's failure to maintain airspeed during a low-altitude evasive maneuver away from another airplane, which resulted in a stall and uncontrolled descent.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- October 22, 2005 · about 11:30 pm local time
- Place
- Casa Grande, Arizona · Casa Grande · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Nord 3202 · all 3202s on the register
- Registration
- N22532 · no longer on the register · serial 54
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot stalled the airplane during the base leg of the traffic pattern and collided with the ground near the end of the runway approach lighting system for runway 05. The pilot had returned from a 2-year mission with his church and was reacquainting himself with flying. The pilot's medical certificate and student pilot certificate were expired. According to family members, the pilot spent the morning practicing touch-and-go takeoffs and landings with a family member (who held a commercial certificate and an expired medical certificate) and then performed five solo takeoffs and landings uneventfully. They further stated that other airplanes were flying to the airport practicing instrument approaches and it was difficult to understand where they were along the practice approaches due to their language accent. Family members stated that, while the accident airplane was on the base turn to final of the sixth approach, a multiengine airplane was on final and the pilot executed an evasive maneuver to avoid the multiengine airplane during which the accident airplane stalled and descended uncontrolled to the ground. The Federal Aviation Administration accident coordinator examined the wreckage following the accident and did not identify any preimpact mechanical malfunctions that would have precluded normal operation of the airplane. Although the airplane was equipped with a lap belt and shoulder harness restraint system, a family member noted that the pilot was not wearing the shoulder harness at the time of the accident because he was not performing aerobatics. Federal Aviation Regulation 14 CFR 91.107 requires the use of both seat belts and if installed, shoulder harnesses, during movement on the surface, takeoff, and landing. Review of autopsy results and impact damage to the wreckage indicated that the pilot's proper use of a shoulder harness combined with a lap belt would have significantly increased his probability of survival.
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: student
- Flight time: 250 hours in all; 200 in this make and model
- Medical certificate: Class 3
- Seat: frt
- Injury: fatal
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 3,250 hours
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme, August 1, 2005; 15 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,690 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Potez 4D34D (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: CGZ Casa Grande AZ at 11:20 pm
- Destination: CGZ Casa Grande AZ
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 5, 5,200 ft by 100 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 260° at 7 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 86°F (30°C), dew point 43°F (6°C)
- Altimeter: 29.81 inHg
- Observation at 11:35 pm from CGZ
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 |
About this page
Everything above comes from the NTSB's public accident database: the narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words, and the coded tables behind its report (pilot, aircraft, flight, weather, injuries, sequence of events) are written out in plain English. Pilots' ages, home towns and medical details are left out on purpose. The docket at the NTSB holds the report as a PDF and the investigation's photographs and documents. This site never names pilots, passengers or anyone else involved. A preliminary report describes what is known soon after the event and can change; the final report, with the probable cause, usually follows one to two years later and this page is refreshed when it does. Case number LAX06LA016.