- Date
- September 30, 2020, 10:40 local (15:40 UTC)
- Place
- DeFuniak Springs, FL
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N8950RBellanca 7GCB
- Defining event
- Landing-landing roll: Landing gear collapse
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Investigation class
- Class 4 - Basic report with no Prelim publish
- NTSB office
- Eastern Region Aviation
- Parties
- FAA/FSDO
- FAA report
- 20200930019769A
- Case key
- 102088
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 failure of the left landing gear airframe cross tube during landing, due to corrosion hidden under riveted fairing.
Findings · 1
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 was performing a touch-and-go landing. After an uneventful touchdown and rollout, and just prior to his application of power to takeoff, the airplane swerved “pretty severely to the right” despite his counter controls. The airplane then veered off the right side of the runway, into the grass and the left main landing gear collapsed under the fuselage, which resulted in substantial damage to the left wing and fuselage. Postaccident examination of the airplane by a Federal Aviation Administration Inspector found that the left main landing gear airframe cross tube had fractured, and a significant amount of corrosion and rust was visible. However, this corrosion was not visible until a section of riveted fairing was removed. Given this information, it is likely that the corroded left main landing gear cross tube failed during the landing, which resulted in a loss of directional control during the takeoff attempt, and a subsequent runway excursion.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N8950R
- Reported as
- Bellanca 7GCB (NO SERIES)
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 7GCB-36
- Built
- 1960
- Airframe hours
- 3,330.6
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320-A2B, 160 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · September 7, 2019
- Departed
- 18FD · Baker, FL
- Destination
- 18FD · Baker, FL
- Airport
- 54J · DeFuniak Springs Airport, runway 27, 4,146 × 60 ft, asphalt
- Equipment
- Handheld GPS, ADS-B
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 69
- Injuries
- None
- Certificates
- Flight instructor, Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- BasicMed
- Last flight review
- February 9, 2019
- Seat
- Front
- Restraint
- 4-point
- Flight hours
- 3,276 total · 28 in this make and model · 3,161 as pilot in command · 5 in the last 90 days · 3 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 300° at 4 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 72 °F, dew point 48 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.14 inHg
- Observed at
- 54J
Docket · 3
The files NTSB released with the investigation on June 9, 2021, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 6.0 MB in all.
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.