- Date
- February 21, 1999, 11:00 local (17:00 UTC)
- Place
- East Troy, WI
- Injuries
- 5 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Taxi
- Aircraft
- N3177YCessna 182E
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report May 8, 2001
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19990221001699A
- Case key
- 45803
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 collapse of the right main landing gear from a preexisting fatigue crack.
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 stated that after four parachutists had boarded the airplane, he began to taxi away from the gate. The pilot stated that the airplane traveled about 25 yards on the upward sloping grass terrain when the right main landing gear collapsed. Examination of the landing gear revealed a break approximately 10 inches from the inboard end of the landing gear leg at a point where it is clamped to the fuselage structure. Further examination of the airplane revealed no other anomalies. Examination of the landing gear by the Materials Laboratory Division of the National Transportation Safety Board indicated that the break stemmed from preexisting fatigue regions located on the lower forward surface of the landing gear leg. This area of the gear also contained evidence of fretting damage in areas where there had been a loss of paint.
Factual narrative
On February 21, 1999, at 1100 central standard time (cst), a Cessna 182E, N3177Y, piloted by a commercial pilot, sustained substantial damage during taxi at East Troy Municipal Airport, in East Troy, Wisconsin, after a collapse of the right main landing gear. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The commercial 14 CFR Part 91 flight was not operating on a flight plan. The pilot reported no injuries to himself or the four passengers. The flight was originating at the time of the accident.
The pilot stated that after four parachutists had boarded the airplane, he began to taxi away from the gate. The pilot stated that the airplane traveled about 25 yards on the upward sloping grass terrain when the right main landing gear collapsed.
Post accident investigation showed substantial damage to the right wing and horizontal stabilizer. Examination of the landing gear revealed a break approximately 10 inches from the inboard end of the landing gear leg at a point where it is clamped to the fuselage structure. Further examination of the airplane revealed no other anomalies.
Examination of the landing gear by the Materials Laboratory Division of the National Transportation Safety Board indicated that the break stemmed from preexisting fatigue regions located on the lower forward surface of the landing gear leg. This area of the gear also contained evidence of fretting damage in areas where there had been a loss of paint.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N3177Y
- Reported as
- Cessna 182E
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 18254177
- Airframe hours
- 7,210
- Engine
- Continental O470L16F, 230 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Business · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Skynights Sport Parachute Club
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · August 22, 1998 · 99 hours before
- Departed
- 57C
- Airport
- 57C · East Troy Municipal Arpt
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
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 1,100 total · 1,100 as pilot in command · 5 in the last 90 days · 1 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 20° at 12 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 28 °F, dew point 16 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- MKE, 27 nm away
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.