# NTSB ANC02LA033: Bellanca 7GCBC, N3JK, Yakutat, AK, May 13, 2002 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: May 13, 2002, 10:30 local (18:30 UTC) - Place: Yakutat, AK - Coordinates: 59.248054, -138.503616 - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=59.2481&lon=-138.5036&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Landing](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/550) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 2 uninjured - Status: Completed, report January 16, 2003 - Report: Approved by Office Director - NTSB office: Alaska Regional Office - Parties: FAA, Anchorage FSDO - NTSB case key (mKey): 54793 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=ANC02LA033 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/54793/pdf - NTSB docket: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=54793 - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ANC02LA033 ## Probable cause The collapse of the left main landing gear during the landing roll due to a fractured main gear leg strut. ## Analysis The pilot/airplane owner was landing his tailwheel airplane equipped with over-sized tires on a turf runway. During the landing roll, the left main landing gear collapsed, and the left wing struck the ground. An aviation mechanic who repaired the airplane said the main landing gear leg strut had fractured at what he believed was a pre-existing crack. The pilot stated in a telephone interview with the NTSB investigator that he was unaware of any preaccident mechanical problems with the airplane. ## Factual narrative On May 13, 2002, about 1030 Alaska daylight time, a tundra tire-equipped Bellanca 7GCBC airplane, N3JK, sustained substantial damage when the left main landing gear collapsed while landing at the Tanis Mesa airstrip, located about 42 miles southeast of Yakutat, Alaska. The commercial pilot and the one passenger were not injured. The 14 CFR Part 91 business (hunt/guide) flight operated in visual meteorological conditions without a flight plan. The flight departed Yakutat about 1010. The intermediate destination was the Tanis Mesa airstrip, with a return to Yakutat. The pilot/owner of the airplane contacted the NTSB investigator-in-charge (IIC) by telephone on May 13 at 1240 to report the accident. During the ensuing conversation, he said he was an owner of a guide business, and was landing his tailwheel airplane at the Tanis Mesa turf airstrip for a routine check on a hunting guide and clients. He said that soon after a normal touchdown, the left main landing gear collapsed, and the left wing struck the ground, damaging the outboard two feet of the wing and the left wing lift strut. The pilot said he was unaware of any pre-existing mechanical problems with the airplane, and that the airplane was equipped with 24-inch tundra tires. Postaccident discussion between the NTSB IIC and an aviation mechanic who repaired the airplane, disclosed that the mechanic discovered what he believed to be a pre-existing crack in the left main landing gear strut at the point the gear leg fractured. ## Sequence of events In NTSB's coding before 2008 (https://www.ntsb.gov/GILS/Documents/codman.pdf). - Main gear collapsed, landing - roll - landing gear,main gear strut - fractured (cause) ## Aircraft - Registration: [N3JK](https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N3JK), registered now, S/N 941-76, built 1976 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: Bellanca 7GCBC - Registry model: [Bellanca 7GCBC](https://openairdocs.org/model/bellanca-7gcbc) (registry code 1220601) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Lycoming 0-320 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-0-320-series) (registry code 41508, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 941-76 - Airframe hours: 2744 - Engines: Lycoming O-320 150 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Business, Part 91 - Registered owner: Jim Keeline - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal - Last inspection: Annual, April 1, 2002, 27 hours before - Departed: YAK, Yakutat, AK - Destination: Yakutat, AK - Airport: AK69, Tanis Mesa, runway 30, 1,900 × 15 ft, grass/turf ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 63; injuries: none; commercial; airplane ratings: single-engine land; instrument ratings: airplane; medical: class 2, valid medical--no waivers/lim.; last flight review June 2, 2001; seat: front; flight hours: 10,500 total, 6,000 in this make and model, 10,400 as pilot in command, 40 in the last 90 days, 40 in the last 30 days, 1 in the last 24 hours ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: calm - Visibility: 50 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: none - Temperature: 45 °F ## FAA reports on this event (1) The FAA's own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date (OpenAirDocs). - [Accident 20020513028899A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20020513028899A), May 13, 2002: Bbavia 7GCBC, Yakutat, AK, Substantial damage. (-23) On may 13, 2002, about 1030 Alaska daylight time, a tundra tire-equipped Bellanca 7GCBC airplane, N3JK, sustained substantial damage while landing at the… ## Other investigations on N3JK (1) From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. - [NTSB SEA85LA115](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/SEA85LA115), Jun 2, 1985: Bellanca 7GCB (N3JK), Yakutat, AK, substantial damage ## Docket (1 files) The files NTSB released with the investigation on November 11, 2002, on NTSB's docket system: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=54793. 437 KB in all. - Pilot/Operator Aircraft Accident Report, NTSB Form 6120.1 (item 1, .PDF, 437 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40436588&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Pilot%2FOperator%20Aircraft%20Accident%20Report,%20NTSB%20Form%206120.1-Redacted.PDF From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. --- 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.