CHANDLER, AZ, USA
N46PS
Piper J3
The pilot was practicing touch-and-goes and lost directional control of the airplane during rollout from the last attempt. The pilot said that as the airplane veered off to the left side of the runway he attempted to correct the drift by applying full right rudder and full throttle. Before he was able to regain directional control of the airplane, the left gear struck a large bush on the edge of the runway.
On February 22, 1998, at 1400 hours mountain standard time, a Piper J3, N46PS, ground looped and subsequently collapsed a main landing gear strut during landing at the Chandler Memorial Airfield, Chandler, Arizona. The aircraft sustained substantial damage, and the commercial pilot and his passenger were not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The flight originated at Steller Airpark in Chandler about 1315. The pilot reported that during his rollout from the last touch-and-go, he lost directional control of the aircraft. He said that the airplane veered to the left and he applied full right rudder and full throttle in an effort to regain directional control. Before he was able to regain directional control of the airplane, the left gear leg struck a large bush on the edge of the runway. The collision with the bush bent the gear and forced the left wing and propeller into the ground.
The pilot's failure to maintain directional control of the airplane.
Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database
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