# NTSB ERA23LA318: Cessna 195A, N9855A, Laconia, NH, July 31, 2023

- Type: NTSB accident investigation
- Classification: Accident · No injuries · Class 3 · Limited · Final report
- Date: July 30, 2023, 20:30 local (Jul 31, 2023, 00:30 UTC)
- Place: Laconia, NH
- Coordinates: 43.573042, -71.417842 (estimated)
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=43.5730&lon=-71.4178&mi=10
- Phase of flight: [Landing](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/550) (OpenAirDocs' grouping)
- Defining event: [Landing-landing roll: Loss of control on ground](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/230)
- Highest injury: No injuries
- Injuries: 1 uninjured
- Status: Completed
- Report: Approved by Office Director
- Investigation class: Class 3
- NTSB office: Eastern Region Aviation
- Parties: FAA/FSDO
- NTSB case key (mKey): 192750
- NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=ERA23LA318
- NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/192750/pdf
- NTSB docket: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=192750
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ERA23LA318

## Probable cause

The pilot’s failure to maintain directional control of the tailwheel-equipped airplane, which resulted in a ground-loop.

## Findings

NTSB's coded findings; those marked are part of the probable cause.

- [Performance/control parameters: yaw control](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01062024): Aircraft › Aircraft oper/perf/capability · Capability exceeded (probable cause); cases with it: [Cessna 195A, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01062024/cases.md?model=2073110), [All aircraft, 149 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01062024/cases.md)
- [Use of equip/info: aircraft control](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02063040): Personnel issues › Task performance · Pilot (probable cause); cases with it: [Cessna 195A, 13 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02063040/cases.md?model=2073110), [All aircraft, 9,295 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02063040/cases.md)

## Sequence of events

The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event best describes what happened.

- [Landing-landing roll: Loss of control on ground](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/230) (defining event); cases with it: [Cessna 195A, 12 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/230/sequence.md?model=2073110), [All aircraft, 4,585 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/230/sequence.md)
- [Landing-landing roll: Runway excursion](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/300); cases with it: [Cessna 195A, 6 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/300/sequence.md?model=2073110), [All aircraft, 3,643 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/300/sequence.md)

## Analysis

In a written statement, the pilot said that he completed the final, 3-hour leg of a multi-leg cross-country flight and landed 1 hour after official sunset. The pilot described the landing as being a routine 3-point landing in the tailwheel-equipped airplane in “perfect” weather conditions. He stated that, during the landing roll about 1,200 ft down the runway, the airplane “suddenly turned sharply to the right.” He applied full brakes but was unable to arrest the turn. The airplane departed the right side of the runway and came to rest with the left main landing gear folded beneath the fuselage, which was substantially damaged. The pilot initially reported a ground loop event, and then later stated the accident resulted from locked wheel brakes on either the right or left side, or perhaps a sheared left main landing gear attachment bolt. Examination of the airplane revealed no preimpact mechanical anomalies with the airplane. A secondary examination of the left main landing gear attachment hardware revealed damage and fracture signatures consistent with overstress. The pilot did not have any recent night flying experience.

## Factual narrative

On July 30, 2023, at 2030 eastern daylight time, a Cessna 195A, N9855A, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Laconia, New Hampshire. The airline transport pilot was not injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. In a written statement, the pilot said that he completed the final, 3-hour leg of a multi-leg cross-country flight and landed 1 hour after official sunset. The pilot described a “routine” 3-point landing in the tailwheel-equipped airplane in “perfect” weather conditions. During the landing roll, about 1,200 ft down runway 26, the airplane “suddenly turned sharply to the right.” The pilot applied “full brakes” but was unable to arrest the turn. The airplane departed the right side of the runway and came to rest on a 160° heading, with the left main landing gear folded beneath the fuselage. There were no witnesses. Surveillance video of the airplane’s final approach was captured by a camera about 1 mile from the approach end of the runway and lacked the definition to depict the accident sequence. In an interview with a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) aviation safety inspector, the pilot initially reported that the airplane ground looped and then later suggested the “left main gear wheel locked up” and then suggested the “right brake likely stuck.” Photographs of the accident site depicted dark, arcing tire marks on the runway surface that continued into the grass and ended at the left main landing gear. Tire marks aligned with the right main landing gear began in the grass at the runway edge and terminated at the right main landing gear tire. Buckling of the right wing, fuselage, and the main landing gear mount structure revealed substantial damage in those areas. The pilot held airline transport and flight engineer certificates with ratings in both single and multiengine airplanes. The pilot completed the requirements for operation under BasicMed on June 3, 2022. The pilot declared 20,941 total hours of flight experience, of which 953 hours were in the accident airplane make and model. According to the FAA inspector and the pilot’s reported flight time, the pilot did not have any recent night flight time experience. According to FAA and maintenance records, the airplane was manufactured in 1950 and was powered by a Jacobs R755S, 350-horsepower engine. The airplane’s most recent annual inspection was completed May 23, 2023, at 3,370.5 total aircraft hours. Examination of the airplane by the FAA inspector revealed no preimpact mechanical anomalies. The left main landing gear wheel and tire, mounting hardware, and shims were retained and forwarded to the National Transportation Safety Board Materials Laboratory in Washington, DC. The examination revealed that two of the three mounting studs were fractured and displayed features consistent with “shear/bending overstress fractures.” The third stud remained intact, but the attachment nut was missing,and the threads were “stripped” and “smeared.”

## Aircraft

- Registration: [N9855A](https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N9855A), registered now, S/N 7548, built 1950 (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: CESSNA 195A
- Registry model: [Cessna 195A](https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-195a) (registry code 2073110) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: [Jacobs L6](https://openairdocs.org/engine/jacobs-l6) (registry code 35005, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs)
- Category: Airplane
- Serial number: 7548
- Year built: 1950
- Airframe hours: 3370.5
- Engines: Jacobs R755S 350 horsepower reciprocating
- Damage: Substantial damage
- Flight: Personal, Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal
- Last inspection: Annual, May 23, 2023, 19 hours before
- Departed: NYQ, Johnstown, NY
- Destination: Same as departure
- Airport: LCI, Laconia Muni, runway 26, 5,890 × 100 ft, asphalt
- Equipment: ADS-B, Auto-pilot, Electronic flight bag or handheld device, Handheld GPS

## Flight crew

As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.

- Pilot; age 79; injuries: none; airline transport, flight engineer; airplane ratings: multi-engine land, single-engine land; instrument ratings: airplane; medical: basicmed, without waivers/limitations; last flight review April 18, 2022; seat: left; restraint: 4-point; flight hours: 20,941 total, 953 in this make and model, 16,098 as pilot in command, 32 in the last 90 days, 21 in the last 30 days

## Weather

- Conditions: Visual (VMC), Dusk
- Wind: 280° at 8 knots, gusting 14
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling: none
- Temperature: 73 °F, dew point 52 °F
- Altimeter: 29.89 inHg
- Observed at: LCI, 1 nm away
- METAR: KLCI 302056Z AUTO 28008G14KT 10SM CLR 23/11 A2989 RMK AO2 SLP120 T02330106 55000

## FAA reports on this event (1)

The FAA's own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date (OpenAirDocs).

- [Accident 20230730011999A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20230730011999A), Jul 30, 2023: Cessna 195A, Laconia, NH, Substantial damage. On 7/30/23 at Laconia airport (lci) at 2039 hours local time a Cessna 195 aircraft sustained substantial damage after veering off runway 26 during rollout…

## Other investigations on N9855A (1)

From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.

- [NTSB UNK64X4111](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/UNK64X4111), Sep 23, 1964: Cessna 195A (N9855A), Tallahassee, FL, substantial damage

## Docket (4 files)

The files NTSB released with the investigation on June 4, 2025, on NTSB's docket system: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=192750. 3.4 MB in all.

- Pilot/operator aircraft accident report, NTSB form 6120.1 (item 1, PDF, 8 pages, 1.1 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=18003007&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=NTSB%20Form%206120_Redacted-Rel.pdf
- FAA email correspondence excerpts (item 2, PDF, 2 pages, 136 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=18749758&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=ERA23LA318%20Laconia,%20NH%20N9855A%20FAA%20Email%20Excerpts_Redacted%23%23-Rel.pdf
- Materials laboratory (item 3, PDF, 1 page, 70 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=17989438&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=Materials%20Laboratory%20Factual%20Report%20-%20Email%20-%20ERA23LA318_Redacted-Rel.pdf
- Photo array (item 4, PDF, 3 pages, 2.2 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=17989323&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=ERA23LA318%20Photo%20Array-Rel.pdf

From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.

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