- Date
- December 29, 1989, 13:30 local (17:30 UTC)
- Place
- Tanana, AK
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N7615SChampion 7ECA
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report September 5, 1990
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Alaska Regional Office
- FAA report
- 19891229054359A
- Case key
- 5331
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
Failure of the right main gear axle bolt.
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Analysis
The pilot reported that he was using his airplane to tend his trap line. Shortly after touch down on a frozen, snow covered lake, the right main gear axle bolt (holding the ski to the gear leg) failed. The ski then separated from the gear leg and the airplane was further damaged before it came to rest. The pilot believed the axle bolt had failed due to the cumulative effects of consistently landing on rough terrain. According to him, there was no inherent flaw or design problem with the axle bolt.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N7615S
- Reported as
- Champion 7ECA
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 1162-76
- Engine
- Lycoming O-235-C1, 115 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Business · Part 91
- Operator
- Quinn, Michael H.
- Registered owner
- Michael H. Quinn
- Departed
- FAI · Fairbanks, AK
- Flight plan
- VFR
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
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 32
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Flight hours
- 445 total · 410 in this make and model · 400 as pilot in command · 42 in the last 90 days · 20 in the last 30 days · 3 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 260° at 6 knots
- Visibility
- 30 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 12,000 ft broken
- Temperature
- -0 °F, dew point -0 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.