- Date
- April 18, 1982, 21:24 local (Apr 19, 1982, 03:24 UTC)
- Place
- Austin, TX
- Injuries
- 68 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N32717Boeing 727-200
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Night/dark
- Status
- Completed · report April 18, 1983
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Case key
- 69851
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
The left main gear collapsed & partially separated from the acft structure. Examination of the gear assembly revealed a failed drag strut assembly #65-57903-11. There was evidence of a pre-existing crack prior to the strut separation. The stress corrosion cracking probably initiated from previous damage to the outer surface of the strut cylinder resulting from a tire blowout incident which occurred on 3/10/82. Either a small crack or group of cracks initiated in the strut at the time of the prior damage, or the damage was severe enough to disrupt the integrity of the surface finish & produce a notch and/or unfavorable residual stress which made the strut susceptable to stress corrosion cracking in this area.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N32717
- Reported as
- Boeing 727-200
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 20386
- Airframe hours
- 39,609
- Engine
- P&W JT8D-9A, turbo fan
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Part 121
- Operator
- Continental Airlines, Inc.
- Registered owner
- Continental Airlines, Inc.
- Departed
- HOU · Houston, TX
- Destination
- Bennettsville, NC
- Flight plan
- IFR
- Airport
- AUS · Austin Muni, runway 31, 7,269 × 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
- 43
- Certificate
- Airline transport
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Flight hours
- 11,165 total · 2,461 in this make and model · 7 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Night/dark
- Visibility
- 6 statute miles