NTSB Factual Report

On January 27, 2006, about 1330 mountain standard time, a Piper J5 Cub, N35588, struck a log in a dry riverbed during landing rollout near Carefree, Arizona. The pilot was operating the airplane under the provisions of 14 CFR Part 91. The private pilot, the sole occupant, was not injured; the airplane sustained substantial damage. The personal flight departed Wickenburg, Arizona, about 1230, with a planned destination of Carefree, Arizona. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan had been filed.

Inspectors from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) were notified of an airplane in a dry riverbed on January 30, 2006. They arrived on scene the next day and found the airplane with damage to the right landing gear, aileron, and wing tip. They noted tracks in the ground that led from the initial touchdown point to the impact point with the log. They extended about 400 feet in a straight line and gave no indications of a turn. The inspectors contacted the pilot/owner of the aircraft and instructed him to contact the National Transportation Safety Board to report the accident. The pilot submitted an accident report several weeks later.

In a written statement to the Safety Board, the pilot said the airplane's engine began to miss in flight. He made a precautionary landing in the riverbed after attempts to correct the problem while airborne were unsuccessful. He adjusted the mixture, checked the magnetos, and the engine smoothed out. While taxiing the pilot made a 180-degree turn when the right gear struck a log, buckling the right landing gear strut and rendering the aircraft inoperable.

NTSB Probable Cause

the pilot's selection of unsuitable terrain for the precautionary landing and failure to avoid obstacles during the landing roll.