- Date
- July 22, 2019, 11:47 local (17:47 UTC)
- Place
- Boise, ID
- Injuries
- 3 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N7947QCessna 402
- Defining event
- Landing-landing roll: Landing gear collapse
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Investigation class
- Class 3
- NTSB office
- Alaska Regional Office
- Parties
- Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)
- FAA report
- 20190722012409A
- Case key
- 99925
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Probable cause
A ductile overstress fracture failure of the right main landing gear bell crank assembly pivot bolt, which resulted in a collapse of the right main landing gear.
Findings · 1
NTSB’s coded findings. Those marked are part of the probable cause; the rest are factors or other findings. Under each, the cases with the same finding.
Sequence of events
The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event is the one that best describes the accident. Under each, the cases with the same event anywhere in their sequence.
Analysis
The pilot reported that, during the landing approach, he selected the landing gear selector switch to the down position, which was followed by "three greens," indicating that the landing gear was down, locked, and safe for landing. He noted that all three occupants verified and verbally confirmed that the landing gear was "down and locked." The airplane landed uneventfully, but as the pilot started a left turn onto the taxiway, the right main landing gear collapsed, and the right wing struck the ground, sustaining substantial damage. A postaccident examination of the landing gear system revealed that the right main landing gear assembly bell crank pivot bolt had sheared and displayed features consistent with a ductile overstress fracture from shear loading.
Factual narrative
On July 22, 2019, about 1147 mountain daylight time, a Cessna 402B airplane, N7947Q, sustained substantial damage when it was involved in an accident near Boise, Idaho. The two pilots and the FAA observer were uninjured. The airplane was operated under Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 91, in accordance with a Part 135.297 instrument proficiency check and a Part 135.399 check airman observation flight. The first pilot, who was the operator's director of operations, reported that he was receiving an instrument proficiency check from the second pilot, the operator's chief pilot; with an FAA aviation safety inspector in the passenger cabin observing the check ride for the purposes of a check airman observation flight. The first pilot stated that, after completing a series of required flight maneuvers, they returned to the departure airport, and the airplane was subsequently cleared to land. During the landing approach, he selected the landing gear selector switch to the down position, which was followed by "three greens," indicating that the landing gear was down, locked, and safe for landing. He noted that all three occupants verified and verbally confirmed that the landing gear was "down and locked." The first pilot stated that, after an uneventful landing, the airplane continued down the runway as the airplane decelerated. When the pilot started a left turn to exit the runway, the right main landing gear collapsed, and the right wing impacted the ground, sustaining substantial damage. A postaccident examination of the landing gear system revealed that the right main landing gear assembly bell crank pivot bolt (p/n NAS464P4-26) had sheared and displayed features consistent with a ductile overstress fracture failure. Figure 1, from the applicable parts catalogue, depicts the main landing gear retraction linkage. The affected bolt from the accident airplane is labeled as #29. Figure 1. Cessna 402 Main Landing Gear Retraction Linkage Installation
Aircraft
- Registration
- N7947Q
- Reported as
- Cessna 402
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 402B0397
- Built
- 1973
- Airframe hours
- 24,024
- Engines
- Continental TSIO-520-EB, 300 horsepower, reciprocatingContinental TSIO-520-EB, 300 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Other work use · Part 91
- Operator
- Western Airlines LC
- Registered owner
- Western Airlines LC
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- AAIP · July 18, 2019
- Departed
- BOI · Boise, ID
- Destination
- BOI · Boise, ID
- Airport
- BOI · Boise Air Terminal/Gowen Field, runway 10L, 10,000 × 150 ft, asphalt
- Equipment
- Stall warning system, ADS-B, Auto-pilot, Onboard weather, Satellite tracking device
Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.
Flight crew · 2
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 65
- Injuries
- None
- Certificates
- Flight instructor, Airline transport
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, With waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- January 21, 2019
- Seat
- Left
- Restraint
- Lap only
- Toxicology
- Performed
- Flight hours
- 11,300 total · 6,800 in this make and model · 8,300 as pilot in command · 65 in the last 90 days · 18 in the last 30 days
- Role
- Check pilot
- Age
- 64
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, With waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- June 3, 2019
- Seat
- Right
- Restraint
- Lap only
- Flight hours
- 5,790 total · 1,260 in this make and model · 5,712 as pilot in command · 102 in the last 90 days · 32 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Variable at 5 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 86 °F
- Observed at
- BOI
Docket · 4
The files NTSB released with the investigation on February 2, 2022, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 2.9 MB in all.
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.
Other investigations on N7947Q · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.