# Accident 19971112039969A: Cessna 172RG, San Diego, CA, November 12, 1997

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: November 12, 1997, 11:30 local time
- Place: San Diego, CA
- Airport: Montgomery Field Airport
- Damage: Substantial damage
- Phase of flight: Roll-Out (Fixed Wing)
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 32.7992° N, 117.1304° W: From the FAA, an estimate near the named town, within about 3 miles
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=32.7992&lon=-117.1304&mi=10
- Aircraft: N9451D, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N9451D-1999-09-08) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Cessna 172RG (registry code 2072438, https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-172rg) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: CESSNA 172RG
- People aboard: 2
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Pilot flight hours: 382 total, 54 in this make and model, 157 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB LAX98LA036](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/LAX98LA036) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19971112039969A

## Narrative

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

LEFT MAIN GEAR COLLAPSED LANDING. (.4)THE PILOT AND HIS INSTRUCTOR VISUALLY CHECKED THAT THE LANDING GEAR WAS DOWN.  ON THE LANDING ROLL THE AIRCRAFT STARTED TO VIBRATE, AND THEN ROTATED TO THE LEFT.  THE INSTRUCTOR PILOT SHUT DOWN THE ENGINE AND THE RIGHT LANDING GEAR COLLAPSED.  THE MAIN GEAR ACTUATOR PISTON FOR THE LEFT MAIN LANDING GEAR WAS FOUND BROKEN.  A DETERMINATION AS TO WHEN THE ACTUATOR PISTON WAS BROKEN COULD NOT BE MADE DUE TO THE EXTENT OF THE DAMAGE.  AN EXAMINATION OF THE AIRCRAFT LOGBOOK REVEALED THAT THE MAIN LANDING GEAR ACTUATOR PISTON HAD ACCUMULATED 1,530.2 HOURS SINCE INSTALLATION.  THE AIRCRAFT WAS EXAMINED ON-SCENE WITH NO FURTHER ANOMALIES NOTED.  AN EXAMINATION FOUND BEACH MARKS ON THE FRACTURE SURFACE CHARACTERISTIC OF A FATIGUE CRACK GROWTH.  THE EXAMINATION REVEALED THAT THE FRACTURE OUTSIDE OF THE FATIGUE REGION WAS THE RESULT OF A SINGLE EVENT OVERLOAD AND NOT DUE TO THE FATIGUE CRACK.

## The NTSB's investigation of this event (1)

From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.

- [NTSB LAX98LA036](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/LAX98LA036), Nov 12, 1997: Cessna 172RG (N9451D), San Diego, CA, substantial damage. Probable cause: Overload of the main gear actuator piston and the subsequent collapse of the landing gear.

## Other reports on N9451D (1)

Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.

- [Accident 19990329002839A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/19990329002839A), Mar 29, 1999: Cessna 172RG (N9451D), Camarillo, CA, Substantial damage. Acft experienced an engine failure the pilot made an emergency landing in a field, and the acft came to rest inverted, other circumstances are unknown. (From…

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.

---
OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.
