# NTSB ANC04LA001: Cessna 180, N9278C, McCarthy, AK, October 10, 2003 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: October 10, 2003, 14:00 local (22:00 UTC) - Place: McCarthy, AK - Coordinates: 55.920726, -159.490142 (estimated) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=55.9207&lon=-159.4901&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Landing](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/550) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 1 uninjured - Status: Completed, report October 28, 2004 - Report: Approved by Office Director - NTSB office: Alaska Regional Office - Parties: Anchorage, FSDO-03 - NTSB case key (mKey): 58128 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=ANC04LA001 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/58128/pdf - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ANC04LA001 ## Probable cause The separation of the left main landing gear wheel from the gear leg, which resulted in a loss of directional control, and collapse of the right main landing gear. A factor contributing to the accident was the rough and uneven airstrip. ## Sequence of events In NTSB's coding before 2008 (https://www.ntsb.gov/GILS/Documents/codman.pdf). - On ground/water encounter with terrain/water, landing - roll - terrain condition - runway - terrain condition - rough/uneven (contributing factor) - Airframe/component/system failure/malfunction, landing - flare/touchdown - landing gear,wheel - separation (cause) - landing gear,main gear - fractured (cause) - Loss of control - on ground/water, landing - flare/touchdown - directional control - not possible, pilot in command - Main gear collapsed, landing - roll ## Analysis The airplane was carrying supplies to a remote airstrip. On approximately the tenth landing of the day, the left main landing gear wheel separated from the gear leg. The airplane veered to the left, and the right main landing gear collapsed. The left main landing gear leg fractured through the upper wheel mounting-bolt holes. The landing strip is gravel covered and rough. The airplane sustained structural damage to the fuselage and right wing. ## Factual narrative On October 10, 2003 about 1400 Alaska daylight time, a wheel-equipped Cessna 180 airplane, N9278C, sustained substantial damage when the left main landing gear wheel separated from the airplane during landing at a private airstrip, about 15 miles east of McCarthy, Alaska. The airplane was being operated by the pilot as a visual flight rules (VFR) personal flight under Title 14, CFR Part 91, when the accident occurred. The solo commercial pilot was not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed. The flight originated at the McCarthy Airport, McCarthy, about 1330. During a telephone conversation with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigator-in-charge (IIC) on October 10, a friend of the pilot said he was relaying information received from the pilot via radio telephone. He related the pilot said he was ferrying supplies to a remote airstrip located on a family homestead. The pilot said on about the tenth trip to the homestead, the left main landing gear wheel separated from the airplane during landing, resulting in the collapse of the right main landing gear, and structural damage to the right wing and the fuselage. During a telephone conversation with the NTSB IIC on October 14, the pilot said the day prior to the accident the airplane's landing gear was changed from floats to wheels. He said there were no mechanical or installation problems noted during the exchange. The pilot said he had made about 10 trips with supplies from McCarthy, about 15 miles from the homestead, prior to the accident. He said the runway is one-way in, and he landed with a slight tailwind. In a subsequent written statement by the pilot dated November 18, the pilot reported a smooth approach and touchdown. After the wheels made contact with the ground he reported that the "left landing gear snapped off along the top two axle mounting bolts," and that the left gear leg furrowing into the ground resulted in the airplane veering sharply to the left. The right main landing gear collapsed, and the fuselage and right wing impacted the ground. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N9278C](https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N9278C-2018-01-29), registration cancelled 2018-01-29, S/N 31377, built 1955 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: Cessna 180 - Registry model: [Cessna 180](https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-180) (registry code 2072602) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Continental O-470 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-o-470-series) (registry code 17026, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 31377 - Airframe hours: 5272.2 - Engines: Continental O-470-K 230 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Personal, Part 91 - Registered owner: Kurt Stenehjem - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Utility; Standard, Normal - Last inspection: Annual, February 1, 2003, 130 hours before - Departed: AK0, McCarthy, AK - Destination: McCarthy, AK - Airport: runway 1, 2,000 × 100 ft, gravel ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 52; injuries: none; commercial; airplane ratings: multi-engine land, single-engine land; medical: class 2, valid medical--w/ waivers/lim; last flight review December 20, 2001; seat: left; flight hours: 1,140 total, 199 in this make and model, 1,017 as pilot in command, 55 in the last 90 days, 21 in the last 30 days, 5 in the last 24 hours ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: none - Temperature: 19 °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 20031010026919A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20031010026919A), Oct 10, 2003: Cessna 180, Mccarthy, AK, Substantial damage. (-23) According to the pilot, he approached for landing and during touchdown the left main landing gear wheel separated from the spring gear leg near the wheel… ## Other investigations on N9278C (2) 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 ANC94LA086](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ANC94LA086), Jul 18, 1994: Cessna 180 (N9278C), Palmer, AK, substantial damage. Probable cause: THE PILOT'S FAILURE TO MAINTAIN DIRECTIONAL CONTROL. - [NTSB ANC89LA037](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ANC89LA037), Oct 30, 1988: Cessna 180 (N9278C), Anchorage, AK, substantial damage 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. --- 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.