# NTSB LAX99LA016: Cessna 208B, N860FE, Lahaina, HI, October 26, 1998 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: October 26, 1998, 07:09 local (17:09 UTC) - Place: Lahaina, HI - Location: 20.9629° N, 156.6730° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs at KAPALUA (JHM), within about a mile (OpenAirDocs) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=20.9629&lon=-156.6730&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Landing](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/550) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 1 uninjured - Status: Completed, report April 20, 2000 - Report: Approved by Office Director - NTSB case key (mKey): 45149 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=LAX99LA016 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/45149/pdf - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/LAX99LA016 ## Probable cause Structural failure of the main landing gear strut due to metallurgical fatigue. The fatigue cracks originated at an internal structural flaw placed in the part during manufacture. ## Sequence of events In NTSB's coding before 2008 (https://www.ntsb.gov/GILS/Documents/codman.pdf). - Main gear collapsed, landing - landing gear,main gear strut - fatigue (cause) - landing gear,main gear strut - failure,total (cause) - material defect(inadequate quality of material), manufacturer (cause) - Loss of control - on ground/water, landing - directional control - not possible, pilot in command - On ground/water encounter with terrain/water, landing - roll - terrain condition - drop-off/descending embankment ## Analysis Following a normal approach and landing, the left wing of the fixed gear aircraft dropped and the aircraft skidded on its belly-mounted cargo pod. Despite the pilot's attempt to maintain directional control, the aircraft veered off the runway to the left and down an embankment. Investigation revealed that the left main landing gear strut, a tubular spring steel assembly, was broken approximately midway between the wheel assembly and the fuselage attachment. Laboratory metallurgical analysis revealed that the strut failed due to multiple fatigue cracks that originated from an extrusion lap on the inside diameter of the strut. The lap was formed during the manufacture of the tubing from which the strut is fabricated, and caused a structural discontinuity from which the fatigue cracks initiated. ## Factual narrative On October 26, 1998, at 0709 hours Hawaiian standard time, a Cessna 208B, N860FE, was substantially damaged when the aircraft veered off runway 02 and impacted trees during landing at the Kapalua (West Maui) airport, Lahaina, Hawaii. The commercial pilot was not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the nonscheduled cargo flight that was operated under 14 CFR Part 135 by Corporate Air, Inc., with call sign AIRSPUR 8597. The flight departed Honolulu, Hawaii, at 0629 on the same day. The operator reported that, following a normal landing and touchdown, the pilot heard a snap sound and perceived the right wing was rising due to a gust of wind or flap malfunction. The pilot retracted flaps and applied reverse thrust. He then noted that the left wing was down, there was a scraping sound and that the aircraft was veering left off the runway. Despite the pilot's attempts to maintain directional control, the aircraft veered off the runway and traveled approximately 500 feet across a taxiway and clearway, and then about 30 feet down an embankment on the west side of the runway. Inspectors from the Honolulu Flight Standards District Office noted that there was fiberglass residue on the runway from the belly-mounted cargo pod. They also noted that the left main landing gear strut, a tubular spring steel assembly, was broken approximately midway between the wheel assembly and the fuselage attachment. The fractured gear strut was sent to the Safety Board Materials Laboratory for analysis of the failure. The metallurgist's analysis of the landing gear strut fracture is attached. The metallurgist determined that there were multiple fatigue cracks present that originated from an extrusion lap on the inside diameter of the strut. The metallurgist opined that the lap was formed during the extrusion process of the tubing from which the strut is manufactured, and caused a structural discontinuity from which the fatigue cracks initiated. The fatigue cracks grew in service to a maximum depth of 0.24 inches prior to the strut fracture. ## Aircraft - Registration: N860FE (not matched to a registry record) - Reported make and model: Cessna 208B - Category: Airplane - Serial number: C28B0182 - Airframe hours: 3835 - Engines: P&W PT6A-114A 675 horsepower turbo prop - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Part 135 - Operator: Corporate Air, Inc. - Registered owner: Federal Express Corporation - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal - Last inspection: AAIP, August 12, 1998, 41 hours before - Departed: HNL, HONOLULU, HI - Destination: HJH - Flight plan: IFR - Airport: JHM, Kapalua, runway 2, 3,000 × 100 ft, asphalt ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 62; commercial; airplane ratings: single-engine land; instrument ratings: airplane; medical: class 2, valid medical--w/ waivers/lim; seat: left; flight hours: 6,000 total, 1,500 in this make and model, 5,700 as pilot in command, 38 in the last 90 days, 25 in the last 30 days ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: 70° at 10 knots - Visibility: 15 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: none - Temperature: 73 °F, dew point 68 °F - Altimeter: 30.00 inHg - Observed at: PHJ ## 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 19981026030399A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/19981026030399A), Oct 26, 1998: Cessna 208B, Lahaina, HI, Substantial damage. Acft left main landing gear collapsed on landing, acft skidded off the left sie of the rwy and came to rest in a pineapple field.(.19) on October 26, 1998, at… 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. --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.