20060819021709I

Incident · Minor damage

FAA incident report · Piper PA-28-161 · El Cajon, CA · August 19, 2006

Date
August 19, 2006 · 12:09 local
Place
El Cajon, CA
Airport
Gillespie Field Airport
Phase of flight
Touch And Go Landing
Operating rules
General operating rules (Part 91)
Damage
Minor damage
Aircraft
N2575U
Reported as
Piper PA28161
Reported engine
Lycoming O320*
People aboard
2
Fatal injuries
0
Pilot’s flight hours
449 total12 in this make and model151 in the last 90 days

From the FAA’s Accident/Incident Data System (AIDS), through its Aviation Safety Information Portal, as reported. The NTSB investigates accidents separately, and its record of an accident is the fuller one. The aircraft is matched to the registry 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.

What happened

The FAA’s narrative, in sentence case. The FAA writes it in capitals and removes private details.

(-23) During flight instruction operations, the aircraft was subjected to a hard crosswind landing while practicing touch-and-gos. When the aircraft returned to flight, the left landing gear wheel and lower strut assembly came out of the strut cylinder and was left hanging by the brake hose. As the stub axle and oleo piston assembly dangled under the aircraft, it rotated until the brake hose spun off of the fitting it was attached to. At that point, the lower landing gear assembly fell to the earth, landing in a residential area. The aircraft returned to the airport and landed with only minor damage to the aircraft. There were no injuries associated with this event. It was discovered that the oleo torque link attach lugs cast into the main landing gear leg castings (cylinder) had broken off completely, allowing the strut oleo to extend completely out of the strut cylinder.

As the FAA filed it

(-23) DURING FLIGHT INSTRUCTION OPERATIONS, THE AIRCRAFT WAS SUBJECTED TO A HARD CROSSWIND LANDING WHILE PRACTICING TOUCH-AND-GOS. WHEN THE AIRCRAFT RETURNED TO FLIGHT, THE LEFT LANDING GEAR WHEEL AND LOWER STRUT ASSEMBLY CAME OUT OF THE STRUT CYLINDER AND WAS LEFT HANGING BY THE BRAKE HOSE. AS THE STUB AXLE AND OLEO PISTON ASSEMBLY DANGLED UNDER THE AIRCRAFT, IT ROTATED UNTIL THE BRAKE HOSE SPUN OFF OF THE FITTING IT WAS ATTACHED TO. AT THAT POINT, THE LOWER LANDING GEAR ASSEMBLY FELL TO THE EARTH, LANDING IN A RESIDENTIAL AREA. THE AIRCRAFT RETURNED TO THE AIRPORT AND LANDED WITH ONLY MINOR DAMAGE TO THE AIRCRAFT. THERE WERE NO INJURIES ASSOCIATED WITH THIS EVENT. IT WAS DISCOVERED THAT THE OLEO TORQUE LINK ATTACH LUGS CAST INTO THE MAIN LANDING GEAR LEG CASTINGS (CYLINDER) HAD BROKEN OFF COMPLETELY, ALLOWING THE STRUT OLEO TO EXTEND COMPLETELY OUT OF THE STRUT CYLINDER.