- Date
- July 28, 1998, 15:00 local (22:00 UTC)
- Place
- Ely, NV
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Taxi
- Aircraft
- N349ACAero Commander 690
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report February 16, 2001
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19980728029949A
- Case key
- 43562
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 and separation of the left main gear wheel halves due to overload as a result of excessive air pressure. A contributing factor was the inadequate maintenance/service of the main gear tires.
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
According to the pilot and observer's statements, they were taxing out for departure when the left main wheel came off its axle. As the strut grounded on the taxiway, the left rear wing spar was fractured and fuselage crown skin wrinkled. Examination of the aircraft revealed that the left wheel was separated into its two halves and the tire had come off the wheel. All ten nuts were stripped off the bolts that hold the wheel halves together. The air pressure in the right tire was measured with a gage that only goes to 125 psi; the pressure in the tire pegged the gage at that value. According to the aircraft's flight manual, the maximum main landing gear tire pressure should be 60 psi.
Factual narrative
On July 28, 1998, at 1500 hours Pacific daylight time, an Aero Commander 690, N349AC, sustained left wing spar damage following left wheel separation from its strut while taxing for takeoff at the Ely, Nevada, airport. The aircraft was operated as public-use by the Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Department of the Interior, for fire reconnaissance missions. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and a company VFR flight plan was filed. The aircraft sustained substantial damage and the airline transport pilot and his observer were not injured. The flight was originating at the time for a local area fire-spotting mission.
According to the pilot and observer's statements, they were taxing out for departure when the left main wheel came off its axle. As the strut grounded on the taxiway, rear wing spar and fuselage crown skin damage occurred.
The aircraft was examined by investigators from the Office of Aircraft Services (OAS), U.S. Department of the Interior. They reported that the rear spar was fractured in the area of the wheel well. Left wing and fuselage crown skin was wrinkled and several wing ribs were damaged. The left wheel was found separated into its two halves and the tire had come off the wheel. All ten nuts were stripped off the bolts that hold the wheel halves together. The air pressure in the right tire was measured with a gage that only goes to 125 psi; the pressure in the tire pegged the gage at that value. According to the aircraft's flight manual, the maximum main landing gear tire pressure should be 60 psi.
According to the OAS investigators, 1 week prior to the accident when the airplane was still in Fairbanks, Alaska, the pilot asked a mechanic to add air to the main tires because they looked low. The mechanic measured the pressure in the tires at 80 psi and informed the pilot that the tires were inflated correctly.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N349AC
- Reported as
- Aero Commander 690
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 11032
- Airframe hours
- 4,775
- Engine
- Airesearch TPE-331-5, 717 horsepower, turbo prop
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Public aircraft · Part 91
- Operator
- Blm, U.S. Dept Of Interior, doing business as Alaska Fire Section
- Registered owner
- Horizons Unlimited
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · June 14, 1998 · 57 hours before
- Departed
- ELY
- Flight plan
- Company VFR
- Airport
- ELY · Yelland Field
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
- 61
- Certificates
- Airline transport, Flight instructor
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine sea, Single-engine land, Multi-engine sea
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 20,000 total · 2,200 in this make and model · 18,300 as pilot in command · 145 in the last 90 days · 70 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 360° at 5 knots
- Visibility
- 20 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 81 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.