- Date
- June 19, 1999, 14:00 local (19:00 UTC)
- Place
- Glen Allan, MS
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N53198Cessna A188B
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report August 3, 2000
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19990619007329A
- Case key
- 46571
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
The improper installation of a nut and bolt assembly by a maintenance personnel that resulted in the in-flight loss of control of the left ailiron.
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, while surveying a field for future work, the airplane became uncontrollable. He selected an emergency landing area, and made a forced landing in a field. The airplane sustained structural damage during the forced landing when the left wing collided with the ground, and the airplane cartwheeled. During the examination of the airplane, the pilot reported that the left aileron control bolt had separated from the control surface. When the left aileron was removed from the airframe, the missing bolt was recovered from the inter-structure of the wing area. The bolt was reinstalled through the aileron assembly, and appeared to provide enough thread material to secure the aileron assembly. The examination of the bolt assembly also disclosed that the bolt that connected the forward end of the control rod to the bell crank was too short and did not protrude through the nylon lock on the nut. The rod-end bearing was also seized and would not move.
Factual narrative
On June 19, 1999, at 1400 central daylight time, a Cessna A188B, N53198, collided with the ground during a forced landing near Glen Allan, Mississippi, following an in-flight malfunction of the aileron control system. The business flight was operated by the pilot under the provisions of Title 14 CFR Part 91 with no flight plan filed. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The airplane sustained substantial damage and the commercial pilot was not injured. The flight initially departed Glen Allan, Mississippi, at 1355.
The pilot reported that, while surveying a field for future work, the airplane became uncontrollable when the ailerons malfunctioned. The pilot selected an emergency landing area, and made a forced landing in a field. The airplane sustained structural damage during the forced landing when the left wing collided with the ground, and the airplane cartwheeled.
During the examination of the airplane, the pilot reported that the left aileron control bolt had separated from the control surface. When the left aileron was removed from the airframe the missing bolt was recovered from the inter-structure of the wing area. The bolt was reinstalled through the aileron assembly, and appeared to provide enough thread material to secure the aileron assembly. The examination of the bolt assembly also disclosed that the bolt that connects the forward end of the control rod to the bell crank was too short and did not protrude through the nylon lock on the nut. The rod-end bearing was also seized and would not move.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N53198
- Reported as
- Cessna A188B
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 18801677T
- Airframe hours
- 4,342
- Engine
- Continental IO-520-D, 285 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Aerial application · Part 91
- Operator
- Michael Lewis
- Registered owner
- Robert Flying Service
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Restricted (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · March 25, 1999 · 49 hours before
- Departed
- MS
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
- 39
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Center
- Flight hours
- 3,000 total · 2,000 in this make and model · 200 in the last 90 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 130° at 5 knots
- Visibility
- 7 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 6,500 ft broken
- Temperature
- 86 °F, dew point 70 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- GLH
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.