- Date
- June 23, 2008, 08:15 local (13:15 UTC)
- Place
- Houston, TX
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N4426CCessna 195
- Defining event
- Landing-landing roll: Loss of control on ground
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report January 29, 2009
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- FAA Flight Standards District Office
- FAA report
- 20080623840099A
- Case key
- 68295
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 failure to maintain directional control, causing the design stress limits of the airplane to be exceeded. Excessive sideloads incurred caused the right main landing gear wheel and strut to fail.
Findings · 3
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 pilot said he made a "smooth wheel landing" on runway 33. Touchdown speed was 80 mph. After the tail wheel settled to the ground, the pilot applied brakes and the airplane started veering to the left. The pilot attempted corrective action, but the airplane started to ground loop. The pilot said side loads on the right main gear caused the wheel to break off. The gear strut dug into the ground and it, too, broke off. The leading edge of the left wing was crushed from the tip to the root, both elevators were bent, and the firewall was wrinkled. The weather was clear and the winds were calm.
Factual narrative
On June 23, 2008, approximately 0815 central daylight time, a Cessna 195, N4426C, piloted by a private pilot, was substantially damaged when the right main landing gear collapsed during landing at the West Houston Airport (IWS), Houston, Texas. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The personal flight was being conducted under the provisions of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 91 without a flight plan. The pilot and his passenger were not injured. The cross-country flight originated at Fredericksburg (T82), Texas, approximately 0645, and was en route to Houston. According to the pilot's accident report, he made a "smooth wheel landing" on runway 33. Touchdown speed was 80 mph. After the tail wheel settled to the ground, the pilot applied brakes and the airplane started veering to the left. The pilot attempted corrective action, but the airplane started to ground loop. The pilot said side loads on the right main gear caused the wheel to break off. The gear strut dug into the ground and it, too, broke off. According to an FAA inspector who went to the accident site, the right main wheel was still attached to the landing gear strut. The leading edge of the left wing was crushed from the tip to the root, both elevators were bent, and the firewall was wrinkled. There was no evidence of pre-existing failure or malfunction of the airplane or flight controls. The weather was clear and the winds were calm.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N4426C
- Reported as
- Cessna 195
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 16011
- Airframe hours
- 3,115
- Engine
- Jacobs R-755A2, 300 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Stephen W. Allen
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · August 1, 2007 · 35 hours before
- Departed
- T82 · Fredericksburg, TX
- Destination
- IWS · Houston, TX
- Airport
- IWS · West Houston, runway 33, 3,953 × 75 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
- 54
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, With waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- May 1, 2008
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 308 total · 38 in this make and model · 288 as pilot in command · 55 in the last 90 days · 27 in the last 30 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 320° at 3 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 25,000 ft overcast
- Temperature
- 82 °F, dew point 72 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.03 inHg
- Observed at
- HOU, 10 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.
Other investigations on N4426C · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.