Accident Sequence
On September 28, 2022, about 0900 mountain standard time, a Grumman American Aviation AA5B airplane, registration N74349, was destroyed in an accident near Sahuarita, Arizona. The pilot, who was the sole occupant, was fatally injured. The airplane was operating as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight.
According to the pilot’s partner, the pilot planned to fly from Flying Diamond Airport (6AZ8), Sahuarita, Arizona, to Ryan Field Airport (RYN), Tucson, Arizona, to practice touch-and-go landings and then return to 6AZ8. Automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast (ADS-B) data recorded the airplane departing 6AZ8 about 0830 and proceeding to RYN. At RYN, the airplane crossed the runway three times and completed two traffic patterns. Ground speeds over the threshold were 63 knots on the first approach, 62 knots on the second, and 62 knots on the third. Midfield downwind groundspeed was about 124 knots during the first pattern and 110 knots during the second. The airplane then returned to 6AZ8.
Return to 6AZ8
En route, altitude varied from about 1,000 ft agl to about 500 ft agl, with airspeeds between 80 and 90 knots groundspeed. The airplane entered the traffic pattern from the north on an extended crosswind leg for runway 25 at about 500 ft agl and 75 knots. It turned 90° to enter the downwind leg, where it decelerated from about 83 knots groundspeed to about 57 knots. Just before turning base, the airplane diverged slightly from the runway as it began a 180° base-to-final descending turn. During the turn, it accelerated to 96 knots and overshot the runway centerline. It then corrected back toward the centerline, slowing to 88 knots as it crossed the threshold. Speed was about 65 knots at the runway midpoint. The last ADS-B data point indicated about 70 knots near the departure end of the runway.
A witness near the approach end of runway 25 described the approach as “pretty fast and a little high.”
Wreckage and Impact
The airplane came to rest about 557 ft west of the departure end of runway 25, in vegetation-covered terrain at an elevation of about 3,905 ft msl. A post-impact fire consumed most of the fuselage and wings. The top three strands of a barbed wire fence at the runway end were fractured, and several bushes and trees between the runway and wreckage exhibited broken branches.
Aircraft Examination
Postaccident examination of the airframe revealed a fractured section of the right aileron carry-through cable. The fractured end had two strands separated about 5 inches from the remaining fractured cable strands. The cable was sent to the NTSB Materials Laboratory for further examination.
Laboratory examination of the aileron control cable revealed areas of flat, elongated, angular fracture surfaces on many wire ends. These angular surfaces displayed rub marks, and adjacent wire cross-sections had thinned wires still grouped into strands. The orientation and characteristics were consistent with between-strand wear followed by overstress separation. The remaining wires had cup-and-cone fracture surfaces with adjacent necking, also consistent with overstress separation.
According to the AA-5 series maintenance manual, the carry-through cable attaches to the control horns and extends aft to a carry-through pulley, completing the aileron control loop so that one aileron moves up while the other moves down.
Maintenance Records
A review of the airplane’s maintenance records showed the last annual inspection occurred on October 1, 2021. The annual/100-hour inspection checklist included an item: “Cabin Group, Item 7. Check chains, cables, pulleys, turnbuckles, and cable ends for condition, secure attachments, and safeties. Specifically check cables at pulleys for fraying while actuating controls through full travel. (max four broken wires acceptable).”