- Date
- July 26, 2018, 18:55 local (23:55 UTC)
- Place
- Oshkosh, WI
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N677TSFisher Dakato Hawk
- Defining event
- Landing-landing roll: Landing gear collapse
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report November 6, 2019
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Central Region
- Parties
- Federal Aviation Administration
- FAA report
- 20180726018019A
- Case key
- 97897
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 failure of the left main landing gear for reasons that could not be determined, which resulted in a loss of directional control during the ground roll.
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 private pilot was landing the airplane on the runway at an ultralight airfield. After the airplane touched down, the left main landing gear (MLG) collapsed at the bottom end of the strut. The airplane ground looped, and the right wingtip struck the ground. The pilot stated that the landing was smooth and gentle, not hard, and that there was no side load on the landing gear at touchdown. He added that he suspected that a previous landing may have been hard, which resulted in a crack in the landing gear. An examination of the left MLG revealed that the upper/outer strut tubing was broken, and the lower/inner strut tubing was bent. There was no evidence of fatigue. It could not be determined if the crack occurred as a result of the accident or was preexisting.
Factual narrative
On July 26, 2018, about 1855 central daylight time, an amateur-built Fisher Dakato Hawk airplane, N677TS, was substantially damaged while landing at Wittman Regional Airport (KOSH), Oshkosh, Wisconsin. The private pilot and passenger were not injured. The personal flight was conducted under the provisions of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) flight plan had been filed for the flight. The local flight originated about 1845. According to the pilot, he was landing on runway 33, at the ultralight airfield. After the airplane touched down the left main landing gear collapsed at the bottom end of the strut. The airplane ground looped, and the right wingtip struck the ground resulting in substantial damage to the wing rib. The pilot stated that the landing was smooth and gentle, not hard, and there was no side load on the landing gear at touchdown. He suspected that a previous landing may have been hard resulting in a crack in the landing gear. An examination of the left main landing gear revealed that the upper/outer strut tubing was broken, and the lower/inner strut tubing was bent. There was no evidence of fatigue. An examination of the airplane and related systems, conducted by a National Transportation Safety Board Investigator and FAA inspectors, revealed no anomalies that would have precluded normal operation.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N677TS
- Reported as
- Fisher Dakato Hawk
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- 021
- Built
- 2016
- Engine
- Rotax 912 UL, 80 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- Condition · August 11, 2017 · 78 hours before
- Departed
- OSH · Oshkosh, WI
- Destination
- OSH · Oshkosh, WI
- Airport
- OSH · Wittman Rgnl, runway 33, 1,200 × 25 ft, grass/turf
- Equipment
- None
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
- 71
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- BasicMed, Without waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- June 26, 2018
- Seat
- Left
- Restraint
- 3-point
- Flight hours
- 1,097 total · 10 in this make and model · 10 in the last 90 days · 10 in the last 30 days · 3.5 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 270° at 8 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 70 °F, dew point 57 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.90 inHg
- Observed at
- KOSH, 1 nm away
Docket · 2
The files NTSB released with the investigation on August 29, 2018, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 3.8 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.