- Date
- October 1, 1998, 13:30 local (19:30 UTC)
- Place
- Belen, NM
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N9403ACessna 140A
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report May 19, 1999
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19981001027469A
- Case key
- 44152
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 aircraft control. Factors were his inadequate compensation for the gusty crosswind conditions, and the airplane manufacturer's failure to provide adequate performance data.
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
When the pilot turned onto final approach to runway 21, he had to lower the left wing and apply right rudder to maintain runway alignment. He said the wind had generally been from the south between 15 and 18 knots. As the airplane touched down, a wind gust 'in excess of 20 knots cocked the airplane to the left,' causing the right main landing gear to buckle and separate. According to a Cessna Airplane Company spokesperson, the airplane owner's manual contains no maximum crosswind component data.
Factual narrative
On October 1, 1998, approximately 1330 mountain daylight time, a Cessna 140A, N9403A, registered to and operated by the pilot, was substantially damaged when it collided with terrain while landing at Alexander Municipal Airport, Belen, New Mexico. The private pilot, the sole occupant aboard, was not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and a VFR flight plan had been filed for the personal flight being conducted under title 14 CFR Part 91. The flight originated at Deming, New Mexico, at 1130.
According to the pilot's accident report, he turned onto final approach to runway 21 (6,600 ft. x 60 ft, asphalt) and had to lower the left wing and apply right rudder to maintain runway alignment. He said the wind had generally been from the south between 15 and 18 knots. As the airplane touched down, a wind gust "in excess of 20 knots cocked the airplane to the left," causing the right main landing gear to buckle and separate.
An FAA inspector who went to the scene reported finding the right wing spar fractured. He said that shortly after the accident, a rain squall passed through the area.
The wind at Albuquerque International Airport, located about 26 miles north of Belen, was from 140 degrees at 15 knots, with gusts to 18 knots. There were distant cumulonimbus clouds and rain shafts from the southwest through the north quadrants.
According to a Cessna Airplane Company spokesperson, the airplane owner's manual contains no maximum crosswind component data.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N9403A
- Reported as
- Cessna 140A
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 15224
- Airframe hours
- 6,138
- Engine
- Continental C--90-12F, 90 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Ivan P. Hersh
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · September 1, 1998 · 19 hours before
- Departed
- DMN · Deming, NM
- Destination
- E80 · NM
- Airport
- E80 · Belen Municipal, runway 21, 6,600 × 0 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
- 67
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 1,000 total · 1,000 in this make and model · 1,000 as pilot in command · 31 in the last 90 days · 22 in the last 30 days · 5 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 140° at 15 knots, gusting 18
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 4,000 ft broken
- Temperature
- 73 °F, dew point 54 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- ABQ, 32 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.