- Date
- July 5, 1994, 12:03 local (19:03 UTC)
- Place
- Elko, NV
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N310BDCessna 310J
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report April 5, 1995
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19940705017529A
- Case key
- 28791
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 collapse of the landing gear due to a gear strut bolt shearing in two.
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 aircraft landed normally and the right main landing gear collapsed during the rollout. Examination of the right main landing gear revealed that the bolt that attaches the right hand bellcrank to the landing gear strut was sheared in two places. The bolt sheared on either side of the bellcrank at the point between the bellcrank and the strut casting. A solid pin joins the bellcrank to the side brace lock link. The lock link fits between the two ears of the bellcrank.
Factual narrative
On July 5, 1994, at 1203 hours Pacific daylight time, a Cessna 310J, N310BD, lost control and veered off runway 23 after the right main landing gear collapsed at the Elko Municipal Airport, Elko, Nevada. The airplane was being operated by Copper State Air Service, Inc., Mesa, Arizona, as an on-demand air cargo flight under 14 CFR Part 135. The airplane sustained substantial damage. The certificated airline transport pilot was not injured. The flight originated in Lovelock, Nevada. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time and a company VFR flight plan was filed.
The automated weather observation station at the Elko Municipal Airport was reporting the winds from 250 degrees at 25 knots gusting to 31 knots about 10 minutes before the accident.
Examination of the right main landing gear by an inspector from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) revealed that the bolt that attaches the right hand bellcrank to the landing gear strut was sheared in two places. The bolt sheared on either side of the bellcrank at the point between the bellcrank and the strut casting. A solid pin joins the bellcrank to the side brace lock link. The lock link fits between the two ears of the bellcrank. The pin appeared to be intact and looked as if it hadn't been removed for several years, or at least since that portion of the airplane was last painted.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N310BD
- Reported as
- Cessna 310J
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 310J013
- Airframe hours
- 3,854
- Engine
- Continental IO-470U, 260 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Part 135
- Operator
- Copper State Air Service, Inc.
- Registered owner
- W. Todd Schafer
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · September 30, 1993
- Departed
- LOL · Lovelock, NV
- Destination
- EKO · NV
- Flight plan
- Company VFR
- Airport
- EKO · Elko Municipal, runway 23, 7,211 × 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
- 32
- Certificates
- Commercial, Airline transport
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 2,315 total · 433 in this make and model · 1,589 as pilot in command · 229 in the last 90 days · 87 in the last 30 days · 5 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 220° at 25 knots, gusting 31
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 81 °F, dew point 37 °F
- Observed at
- EKO
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.