- Date
- September 14, 1995, 18:00 local (Sep 15, 1995, 02:00 UTC)
- Place
- Port Alsworth, AK
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N2940KCessna 180
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report May 9, 1996
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Alaska Regional Office
- FAA report
- 19950914029819A
- Case key
- 2740
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 main landing gear wheel that had been modified for a tundra tire.
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 he was landing his airplane at an off airport site. His airplane's main landing gear wheels were modified to accept oversize tundra tires. During the landing roll, the left wheel split apart and separated from the main landing gear leg. The left main landing gear stub subsequently dug into the ground, and the airplane nosed down.
Factual narrative
On September 14, 1995, about 1800 Alaska daylight time, a tundra tire equipped Cessna 180 airplane, N2940K, operated by the owner/pilot, sustained substantial damage during landing at an off airport site located approximately 85 miles west of Port Alsworth, Alaska. The solo airline transport certificated pilot was not injured. The personal flight operated in visual meteorological conditions without a flight plan.
The pilot reported he was performing a wheel landing on an unimproved site. Shortly after touchdown, the pilot applied braking action and the tailwheel began to settle. He said the left side brakes were very "soft" and he applied opposite rudder to maintain directional control. The pilot feels that the left wheel assembly was coming apart at this point. The left main landing gear stub subsequently dug into the landing surface, and the airplane went up on its nose and left wingtip.
Postaccident inspection by the pilot disclosed that the airplane's left wheel, which was modified for tundra tire use with Gar Aero adapters, had split vertically, and allowed the wheel halves to separate away from the landing gear leg.
Damage to the airplane consisted of, among other items, a bent left wing spar, a damaged left aileron and wing ribs.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N2940K
- Reported as
- Cessna 180
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 18053136
- Airframe hours
- 1,022
- Engine
- Continental O-470, 230 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Richard P. Elmquist
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal; Standard, Utility
- Last inspection
- Annual · September 1, 1995 · 11 hours before
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
- 45
- Certificates
- Commercial, Airline transport, Flight engineer
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 7,831 total · 130 in this make and model · 1,864 as pilot in command · 156 in the last 90 days · 8 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 90° at 10 knots
- Visibility
- 15 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 7,000 ft broken
- Temperature
- 57 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.