- Date
- March 25, 1997, 15:47 local (21:47 UTC)
- Place
- Grand Forks, ND
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N7205ACurtiss-Wright P-40E
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report August 25, 1997
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19970325003619A
- Case key
- 10533
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 pilot's improper flare during landing.
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
During a ferry flight, with the main retractable landing gear was pinned in the down position using safety cables, the pilot made a normal approach to land. During landing the pilot was observed as having made a hard landing resulting in the left main landing gear collapsing.
Factual narrative
On March 25, 1997, at 1547 central standard time (cst), a Curtiss Wright P-40E, N7205A, piloted by a Canadian private pilot, ran off the side of runway 35L (7349'x 150' dry/asphalt) at Grand Forks International Airport, Grand Forks, North Dakota. The airplane sustained substantial damage when its right main landing gear collapsed upon landing, veering the airplane off the runway into a snowbank. The Canadian private pilot reported no injuries. The ferry 14 CFR Part 91 flight was operating in visual meteorological conditions. No flight plan was filed. The flight departed Carman, Manitoba, Canada, at 1502 cst.
According to the pilot's written statement, he was ferrying the airplane to Grand Forks, ND, to clear U.S. Customs with the airplane owner flying chase in a Beechcraft Bonanza. The pilot stated at touch down "...the landing was smooth but the R. H. (right) gear (main) retracted on touch down." The pilot was no longer able "...to hold A/C straight and ground looped..." to the right of the runway.
A witness observed the landing sequence and said the approach looked normal but in the her opinion the aircraft seemed to flare high and contacted the ground rather hard. The Federal Aviation Administration Inspector examined the right main landing gear and said that the retractable landing gear had been jury rigged in the down position with cables, which on the right side failed. Inspection of the left side revealed only a few cable strands still holding.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N7205A
- Reported as
- Curtiss-Wright P-40E
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- AK823/1036
- Airframe hours
- 3,000
- Engine
- Rolls-Royce 602, 1,490 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Ferry · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Ron J. Fagen
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Special flight (Special)
- Last inspection
- Unknown · March 20, 1997 · 750 hours before
- Departed
- Carman, Canada
- Destination
- GFK · ND
- Airport
- GFK · Grand Forks International, runway 35L, 7,349 × 150 ft, asphalt
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
- 58
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Front
- Flight hours
- 4,000 total · 170 in this make and model · 5 in the last 30 days · 4 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 290° at 10 knots
- Visibility
- 15 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 39 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- GFK
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.