# Accident 20180702024979A: Cessna 180, Lago Vista, TX, July 2, 2018 - Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported - Date: July 2, 2018, 20:20 local time - Place: Lago Vista, TX - Damage: Substantial damage - Phase of flight: Landing: Touchdown - Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91) - Location: 30.4986° N, 97.9694° W: From the FAA - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=30.4986&lon=-97.9694&mi=10 - Aircraft: N2469C, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N2469C-2022-04-22) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry model: Cessna 180 (registry code 2072602, https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-180) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: Continental O-470 series (registry code 17026, https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-o-470-series) (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: CESSNA 180 - People aboard: 2 - Fatal injuries: 0 - Other injuries: 0 - Pilot certificates: Airline transport, private pilot - Pilot flight hours: 16,676 total, 293 in this make and model, 33 in the last 90 days - NTSB investigation: [NTSB CEN18LA250](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN18LA250) (OpenAirDocs) - FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/) - Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20180702024979A ## Narrative As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^. AFTER A FLIGHT OF 2 PLUSE HOURS TO HIS FINAL DESTINATION. HE SET UP FOR LANDING ON RUNWAY 15. WINDS WERE SAID TO BE 7 GUSTING 14. VARIABLE 090-170, THE PILOT PREPPED FOR A CROSSWIND LANDING. AS HE LANDED, HE SET THE AIRCRAFT DOWN A LITTLE HARDER THAN NORMAL DUE TO THE CROSS WINDS. AIRCRAFT FUSELAGE STRUCK THE GROND AND SPUN 180 DEGREES. ON JULY 1, 2018, ABOUT 2010 CENTRAL DAYLIGHT TIME, A CESSNA 180 SINGLE-ENGINE AIRPLANE, N2469C, WAS SUBSTANTIALLY DAMAGED WHILE LANDING AT RUSTY ALLEN AIRPORT (RYW), LAGO VISTA, TEXAS. THE AIRLINE TRANSPORT PILOT AND PASSENGER WERE NOT INJURED. THE AIRPLANE WAS REGISTERED TO AND OPERATED BY THE PILOT UNDER THE PROVISIONS OF TITLE 14 CODE OF FEDERAL REGULATIONS PART 91. DAY VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED FOR THE PERSONAL FLIGHT THAT DEPARTED CHILDRESS MUNICIPAL AIRPORT (CDS), CHILDRESS, TEXAS, ABOUT 1740 WITH RYW AS THE INTENDED DESTINATION. ACCORDING TO THE PILOT, THE SURFACE WIND WAS FROM 120° MAGNETIC AT 7 KNOTS, GUSTING 17 KNOTS, WHEN HE ENTERED THE TRAFFIC PATTERN FOR RUNWAY 15 AT RYW. HE NOTED THAT THE WIND DIRECTION BECAME VARIABLE BETWEEN 090° MAGNETIC AND 170° MAGNETIC WHILE THE AIRPLANE WAS ON THE DOWNWIND LEG. THE PILOT MADE A NORMAL APPROACH FOR THREE-POINT LANDING WITH A LEFT CROSSWIND CORRECTION; HOWEVER, THE AIRPLANE ROLLED LEFT DURING THE LANDING FLARE AND LANDED HARD ON THE LEFT MAIN LANDING GEAR. THE PILOT REPORTED THAT THE AIRPLANE BOUNCED AND THAT HE WAS UNABLE TO REGAIN ROLL CONTROL BEFORE THE AIRPLANE LANDED HARD AGAIN ON THE LEFT MAIN LANDING GEAR. THE AIRPLANE BOUNCED A SECOND TIME AND THE LEFT MAIN LANDING GEAR SPRING SEPARATED FROM THE FUSELAGE ON THE THIRD CONTACT WITH THE RUNWAY. THE AIRPLANE SUBSEQUENTLY GROUND-LOOPED TO THE LEFT AND CAME TO REST HEADING ABOUT 180° FROM THE ORIGINAL RUNWAY DIRECTION. THE LEFT MAIN WING SPAR WAS SUBSTANTIALLY DAMAGED WHEN THE LEFT WINGTIP IMPACTED THE RUNWAY. THE FRACTURED LEFT MAIN LANDING GEAR SPRING WAS EXAMINED BY THE NATIONAL TRANSPORTATION SAFETY BOARD MATERIALS LABORATORY TO DETERMINE IF PREEXISTING DAMAGE HAD CONTRIBUTED TO ITS SEPARATION DURING THE ACCIDENT. THE LABORATORY EXAMINATION REVEALED A FRACTURE SURFACE THAT EXHIBITED A RELATIVELY FLAT SURFACE WITH A DISTINCT SHEAR LIP ALONG THE PERIPHERY. FURTHER EXAMINATION OF THE FRACTURE SURFACE REVEALED A CHEVRON PATTERN INDICATING THE DIRECTION OF CRACK PROPAGATION FROM A THUMBNAIL SHAPED INITIATION POINT. THE LOCATION OF THE FATIGUE CRACK WAS ADJACENT TO WHERE THE LANDING GEAR FIXATION HARDWARE CONTACTED THE LANDING GEAR SPRING. THE INITIATION POINT EXHIBITED FEATURES CONSISTENT WITH A MULTIPLE-ORIGIN FATIGUE CRACK. THE APPROXIMATE DIMENSION OF THE FATIGUE CRACK WAS 0.14 INCH WIDE AND 0.04 INCH DEEP. THE PILOT STATED THAT THE AIRPLANE LOGBOOKS ARE NOT COMPLETE; HOWEVER, THERE WAS NO DOCUMENTED WORK ON THE LEFT LANDING GEAR SINCE THE LOGBOOKS BEGAN IN 1993. BASED ON THE AVAILABLE INFORMATION, THE PILOT ESTIMATED THAT THE AIRPLANE HAD ACCUMULATED A TOTAL SERVICE TIME OF ABOUT 4,101 HOURS. BASED ON A LACK OF COMPLETE MAINTENANCE DOCUMENTATION, IT IS UNKNOWN IF THE LEFT MAIN LANDING GEAR SPRING HAD BEEN REPLACED OR OVERHAULED SINCE NEW. THE PILOT ACTIONS CONTRIBUTED TO THIS EVENT BY KNOWINGLY ATTEMPTED TO LAND HARDER THAN NORMAL AND NOT ON BOTH MAIN GEARS. ## 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 CEN18LA250](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN18LA250), Jul 2, 2018: Cessna 180 (N2469C), Lago Vista, TX, substantial damage. Probable cause: The separation of the left main landing gear spring during landing due to a preexisting fatigue crack. 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.