# NTSB ANC95LA081: Cessna 172, N84468, Gustavus, AK, June 24, 1995 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: June 24, 1995, 10:45 local (18:45 UTC) - Place: Gustavus, AK - Coordinates: 58.420936, -135.780731 (estimated) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=58.4209&lon=-135.7807&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Landing](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/550) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 3 uninjured - Status: Completed, report January 29, 1996 - Report: Approved by Office Director - NTSB office: Alaska Regional Office - NTSB case key (mKey): 2669 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=ANC95LA081 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/2669/pdf - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ANC95LA081 ## Probable cause THE PILOT'S FAILURE TO MAINTAIN DIRECTIONAL CONTROL. A FACTOR RELATING TO THE ACCIDENT WAS: THE DIMINISHED NOSEWHEEL STEERING CAPABILITY DUE TO AN OVERINFLATED NOSEWHEEL STRUT. ## Sequence of events In NTSB's coding before 2008 (https://www.ntsb.gov/GILS/Documents/codman.pdf). - Loss of control - on ground/water, landing - roll - landing gear,nose gear strut - pressure excessive (contributing factor) - landing gear,steering system - other (contributing factor) - directional control - not maintained, pilot in command (cause) - Nose gear collapsed, landing - roll - landing gear,nose gear - overload ## Analysis THE AIR TAXI PILOT WAS LANDING THE TRICYCLE GEAR AIRPLANE ON A HARD SURFACED RUNWAY. HE SAID THE TOUCHDOWN WAS ON THE MAIN LANDING GEAR, AND WAS SMOOTH AND UNEVENTFUL UNTIL HE LOWERED THE NOSEWHEEL TO THE RUNWAY. ALSO, HE SAID THAT AS SOON AS THE NOSEWHEEL TOUCHED DOWN, THE AIRPLANE VEERED TO THE LEFT, AND THAT HE WAS UNABLE TO TURN THE AIRPLANE TO THE RIGHT. THE AIRPLANE CONTINUED TO THE LEFT, AND THE NOSEWHEEL STRUT SUBSEQUENTLY COLLAPSED, DAMAGING THE FIREWALL. THE PILOT SAID THE AIRPLANE HAD AN OVERSIZED NOSEWHEEL TIRE. AN FAA INSPECTOR, WHO WAS FAMILIAR WITH THE AIRPLANE, SAID THE NOSEWHEEL STRUT MAY HAVE BEEN OVERINFLATED, WHICH MAY HAVE CONTRIBUTED TO STEERING DIFFICULTIES. THE OPERATOR, WHO SUBMITTED THE NTSB ACCIDENT REPORT FORM, INDICATED THAT THERE WERE NO PREACCIDENT MECHANICAL PROBLEMS WITH THE AIRPLANE. ## Factual narrative On June 24, 1995, about 1045 Alaska daylight time, a wheel equipped Cessna 172, N84468, sustained substantial damage while landing on runway 28 at the Gustavus Airport, Gustavus, Alaska. The commercial certificated pilot and two passengers aboard were not injured. The 14 CFR Part 135 on-demand air taxi flight operated in visual meteorological conditions. The flight departed Juneau, Alaska, about 1015; the destination was Gustavus. During a telephone conversation with the NTSB investigator-in- charge on June 24, 1995, the pilot reported the wind was light and directly down runway 28. He said the landing was normal until he lowered the nose wheel. Soon after he lowered the nose wheel, he said the airplane veered left. Full right rudder and the application of the right brake did not stop the turn to the left. The pilot said the nose wheel landing gear collapsed, and that the firewall was damaged. The pilot indicated he did not know why the airplane went to the left and was uncontrollable. He said that the nosewheel was of a larger than standard variety, but could not immediately recall its size. A Juneau Flight Standards District Office (FSDO)Inspector spoke with the pilot, one of passengers, and examined the airplane. The FSDO inspector said the passenger he spoke with indicated the airplane touched down smoothly and on the main landing gear, and that the landing appeared normal until the nosewheel came down and the airplane veered to the left. The inspector also said he had looked at the accident airplane prior to the accident, and it looked to him that the nosewheel strut may have been over inflated and over extended, making the airplane more difficult to steer with the nosewheel. The NTSB Pilot/Operator Accident Report form 6120.1/2 was completed by the Operator, and the portion of the report: Mechanical Malfunction/Failure, was checked "NO". ## Aircraft - Registration: [N84468](https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N84468), registered now, S/N 17258485, built 1969 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: CESSNA 172 - Registry model: [Cessna 172K](https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-172k) (registry code 2072430) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Lycoming O&VO-360 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-o-vo-360-series) (registry code 41514, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 17258485 - Airframe hours: 2400 - Engines: LYCOMING O-360-A1A 180 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Part 135 - Registered owner: Steve Wilson - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Utility; Standard, Normal - Last inspection: 100 hour, May 14, 1995, 75 hours before - Departed: JNU, JUNEAU, AK - Destination: GST - Flight plan: VFR - Airport: GST, Gustavus, runway 28, 6,700 × 150 ft, asphalt ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 35; commercial, flight instructor; airplane ratings: single-engine sea, multi-engine land, single-engine land; instrument ratings: airplane; medical: class 1, valid medical--no waivers/lim.; seat: left; flight hours: 750 total, 500 in this make and model, 520 as pilot in command, 80 in the last 90 days, 50 in the last 30 days, 5 in the last 24 hours ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: 110° at 3 knots - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: none - Temperature: 52 °F, dew point 43 °F - Altimeter: 30.00 inHg - Observed at: GST ## 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 19950624019979A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/19950624019979A), Jun 24, 1995: Cessna 172K, Gustavus, AK, Substantial damage. Lost directional control on landing roll. No mechanical except over inflated strut making more difficult control. 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.