# Incident 19960301006679I: Cessna U206F, Merced, CA, March 1, 1996

- Type: FAA incident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: March 1, 1996, 14:30 local time
- Place: Merced, CA
- Airport: Merced Municipal/Mac Ready
- Damage: Minor damage
- Phase of flight: Roll-Out (Fixed Wing)
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 37.2847° N, 120.5140° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs at Merced Regional Macready Field (MCE), within about a mile (OpenAirDocs)
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=37.2847&lon=-120.5140&mi=10
- Aircraft: N9554G, registered now (https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N9554G) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Cessna U206F (registry code 2073333, https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-u206f) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Continental IO-520 series (registry code 17032, https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-io-520-series) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: CESSNA U206F
- People aboard: 3
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Pilot flight hours: 725 total, 400 in this make and model, 12 in the last 90 days
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19960301006679I

## Narrative

As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^.

NARRATIVE: N9554G, A CESSNA 206, DEPARTED MODESTO, CA AIRPORT ABOUT 1400 PST ON MARCH 1, 1996, ON A LOCAL FLIGHT TO MERCED, CA. THE PURPOSE OF THE FLIGHT WAS TO PICK UP AIRPLANE PARTS AT MODESTO. N9554G LANDED ON RUNWAY 12 ABOUT 1430 PST, BUT WHEN THE NOSE WHEEL TOUCHED DOWN, THE AIRPLANE VEERED RAPIDLY TO THE RIGHT. RUDDER PRESSURE ONLY WAS APPLIED, WHICH WAS INEFFECTIVE DUE TO SLOW SPEED, AND THE C206 DEPARTED RUNWAY 12 TO THE RIGHT SIDE. THE AIRPLANE CAME TO REST STUCK IN THE MUD ABOUT 30-40 FEET TO THE RIGHT OF RUNWAY12. VISUAL FLIGHT CONDITIONS PREVAILED. THERE WAS MINOR DAMAGE TO THE NOSE STRUT, LOWER COWLING, AND THE PROPELLOR OF N9554G. THERE WERE NO INJURIES TO PERSONS ON BOARD THE AIRPLANE. POST INCIDENT MAINTENANCE REVEALED THAT THE HYDRAULIC FLUID IN THE UPPER STRUT HAD BROKEN DOWN (DIRTY AND CONTAMINATED), WHICH CAUSED THE NOSE GEAR STRUT UPPER O RING TO BIND, THUS RENDERING THE SELF CENTERING DEVICE INOPERATIVE. THIS CAUSED THE NOSE WHEEL STRUT TO BIND WITH THE NOSE WHEEL CANTED TO THE RIGHT. ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^ THIS INCIDENT IS CLOSED.

From the FAA Accident/Incident Data System. Reports are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. For accidents, the NTSB's own investigation is the fuller record.

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