MIA06LA086

NTSB accident investigation · Cessna 310K · Brooksville, FL · April 12, 2006

Accident · No injuriesLimited investigationFinal report
Date
April 12, 2006, 17:45 local (21:45 UTC)
Place
Brooksville, FL
Injuries
4 uninjured
Damage
Substantial damage
Phase of flight
Landing
Aircraft
N6981LCessna 310K
Weather
Visual (VMC) · Day
Status
Completed · report July 25, 2007
Report
Approved by Office Director
Parties
FAA FSDO
FAA report
20060412009589A
Case key
63548

From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.

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Probable cause

The mechanic's improper maintenance that resulted in the right main landing gear's separation from the airplane and an inadvertent loss of control during landing.

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.

Loss of control - on ground/waterLanding - roll
Maintenance - improperOther maintenance personnelCause
Landing gear,main gear - separation
Aircraft control - not possiblePilot in command
Ground loop/swerve - inadvertentPilot in command

Analysis

The pilot stated that during the landing rollout, the airplane pulled to the right, and he made a correction, but it continued to pull to the right. As the rollout progressed, he said the airplane continued to pull to the right, with him using full rudder deflection. The airplane departed the right side of the runway, into the grass, and impacted orange trees. An FAA inspector responded and conducted a postcrash examination of the airplane and found the airplane sitting on its left main landing gear and nose gear. The right main landing gear had separated from the airplane. The inspector further stated that upon examining the right main landing gear the he noted a discrepancy associated with the forward trunnion. He said that the forward and aft trunnions both have two u-bolts that hold the landing hear to the pivot points on the airplane, and the aft trunnion had both u-bolts and had the pivot piece firmly locked under the u-bolts. The inspector said that on the forward trunnion the aft u-bolt was in place but the forward u-bolt was missing, and the pivot piece was not under the aft u-bolt. During the course of the investigation, the pilot provided an excerpt from the airplane maintenance records showing that the airplane's right main landing gear had been recently repaired. At the time of the accident, the airplane had accumulate about 9 hours since landing gear maintenance had been performed.

Factual narrative

On April 12, 2006, about 1745 eastern daylight time, a Cessna 310K, N6981L, registered to and operated by a private individual, as a Title 14 CFR Part 91 flight, veered off the runway during landing at Brooksville, Florida. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed. The private-rated pilot and three passengers were not injured, and the airplane incurred substantial damage. The flight originated in Knoxville, Tennessee, the same day, about 1445.

The pilot stated that during the landing rollout, the airplane pulled to the right, and he made a correction, but it continued to pull to the right. He said as the rollout progressed it continued to pull to the right, with him using full rudder deflection. The airplane then departed the right side of the runway, into the grass, and impacted some orange trees near a house.

An FAA inspector responded and conducted a postcrash examination of the airplane. According to the inspector, when he viewed the airplane it was sitting on its left main landing gear and nose gear, and the right main landing gear had separated from the airplane. He further stated that upon examining the right main landing gear the he noted a discrepancy associated with the forward trunnion. He said that the forward and aft trunnions both have two u-bolts that hold the landing hear to the pivot points on the airplane, and the aft trunnion had both u-bolts and had the pivot piece firmly locked under the u-bolts. He said on the forward trunnion the aft u-bolt was in place but the forward u-bolt was missing, and the pivot piece was not under the aft u-bolt.

The pilot provided an excerpt from the airplane maintenance records which showed that the accident airplane's right main landing gear had been recently repaired. According to the pilot, at the time of the accident the airplane had accumulate about 9 hours since landing gear maintenance had been performed.

Aircraft

Registration
N6981L
Reported as
Cessna 310K
Category
Airplane
Serial number
310K0081
Airframe hours
5,500
Engines
Teledyne Continental IO-470, 260 horsepower, reciprocatingTeledyne Continental IO-470, 260 horsepower, reciprocating
Damage
Substantial damage
Flight
Personal · Part 91
Registered owner
Joseph Karl
Airworthiness certificate
Standard, Normal
Departed
DKX · Knoxville, TN
Destination
X05 · Brooksville, FL
Airport
X05 · Pilot Country Airport, runway 18, 3,700 × 75 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
56
Injuries
None
Certificate
Private
Airplane ratings
Multi-engine land
Instrument ratings
Airplane
Medical
Class 3
Seat
Left
Flight hours
2,600 total · 85 in this make and model · 2,600 as pilot in command · 6 in the last 90 days · 5 in the last 30 days · 0 in the last 24 hours

Weather

Conditions
Visual (VMC) · Day
Wind
70° at 11 knots, gusting 17
Visibility
9 statute miles
Lowest ceiling
9,000 ft broken
Temperature
79 °F, dew point 55 °F
Altimeter
30.17 inHg
Observed at
TPA

FAA reports on this event · 1

The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.