- Date
- December 19, 1987, 13:10 local (20:10 UTC)
- Place
- Las Cruces, NM
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N23497Piper PA-38-112
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report February 14, 1989
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19871219075179A
- Case key
- 17427
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
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
While practicing crosswind landings the instructor stated that the student touched down normally with aprx 5 knot crosswind. Upon touch down, the right main landing gear separated from the acft causing substantial damage. There were no injuries and no fire. Investigation revealed the right main gear inbd retention bolt had failed causing the right main gear assembly to separate from the acft. Metallurgist examination of the broken bolt revealed evidence of a progressive failure. The bolt was Piper part number 402 742.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N23497
- Reported as
- Piper PA-38-112
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 38-81A0145
- Airframe hours
- 1,835
- Engine
- Lycoming O-235-L2C, 112 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Operator
- Waide P. Noel
- Registered owner
- Southwest Aviation, Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · August 12, 1987 · 1 hours before
- Departed
- LRU · Las Cruces, NM
- Destination
- LRU
- Airport
- LRU · Crawford, runway 30, 7,000 × 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
- 49
- Certificates
- Flight instructor, Airline transport
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Right
- Flight hours
- 9,833 total · 400 in this make and model · 9,633 as pilot in command · 101 in the last 90 days · 20 in the last 30 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 270° at 13 knots, gusting 23
- Visibility
- 60 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 48 °F, dew point 39 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- ELP, 43 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.