# NTSB NYC02LA070: Cessna 172P, N65021, Coatesville, PA, March 2, 2002 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: March 2, 2002, 11:40 local (16:40 UTC) - Place: Coatesville, PA - Coordinates: 39.983055, -75.866386 - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=39.9831&lon=-75.8664&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Landing](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/550) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 2 uninjured - Status: Completed, report June 25, 2003 - Report: Approved by Office Director - Parties: FAA - NTSB case key (mKey): 54347 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=NYC02LA070 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/54347/pdf - NTSB docket: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=54347 - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/NYC02LA070 ## Probable cause The student pilot's loss of aircraft control which resulted in a hard landing, and the CFI's delayed remedial action. Factors related to the accident were the fatigue cracks which initiated at the attachment hole on the landing gear strut, and the crosswind conditions. ## Sequence of events In NTSB's coding before 2008 (https://www.ntsb.gov/GILS/Documents/codman.pdf). - Hard landing, landing - flare/touchdown - aircraft control - not maintained, pilot in command (cause) - landing gear,main gear strut - fatigue (contributing factor) - remedial action - delayed, pilot in command(cfi) (cause) - weather condition - crosswind (contributing factor) - Loss of control - on ground/water, landing - roll - Gear collapsed, landing - roll ## Analysis While the student pilot was landing on runway 11, about 5 feet above the runway, a gust of wind was encountered, which lifted the right wing. The left main landing gear touched down and the gear spring twisted. The airplane began to drift to the left, and after the CFI "gave the student a second or two to recover from this position," he took the controls. Continuing to veer, the airplane departed the left side of the runway, where the left main landing gear collapsed. The airplane came to rest in a grass area. The left main landing gear spring was retained for further examination. According to the manufacturers technical report of the examination, the tubular spring for the left main landing gear fractured at the inboard end. The inboard end of the spring contained a longitudinal oriented fracture that intersected a fastener hole. The fracture face contained chevron marks typical of an overstress fracture that pointed back to the hole, indicating that the fracture emanated from the fastener hole. No evidence of corrosion was noted on the fracture region. Further examination revealed that the fastener hole contained machining marks and fretting. Review of the airplane's maintenance records revealed that the landing gear struts were removed from the fuselage, and floats were installed, in 1992. After about 2,158 hours of service, the floats were removed, and the original landing gear struts were re-installed. The airplane had accumulated about 3,598 hours of total service. The CFI reported that the winds at the airport, about the time of the accident, were from 180 degrees at 8 knots, gusting to 17 knots. ## Factual narrative On March 2, 2002, about 1140 eastern standard time, a Cessna 172P, N65021, was substantially damaged while landing at the Chester County Airport, Coatesville, Pennsylvania. The certified flight instructor (CFI) and student pilot were not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed for the instructional flight conducted under 14 CFR Part 91. According to the CFI, the student was landing on runway 11, a 5,400-foot long, 100-foot wide, asphalt runway. About 5 feet above the runway, a gust of wind was encountered, which lifted the right wing. The left main landing gear touched down, and the gear spring twisted. The airplane began to drift to the left, and after the CFI "gave the student a second or two to recover from this position," he took the controls. Continuing to veer, the airplane departed the left side of the runway, where the left main landing gear collapsed. The airplane came to rest in a grass area. The left main landing gear spring was retained for further examination at the Cessna Aircraft Company Materials Laboratory. According to the manufacturer's technical report of the examination, the tubular spring for the left main landing gear fractured at the inboard end. The inboard end of the spring contained a longitudinal oriented fracture that intersected a fastener hole. The fracture face contained chevron marks typical of an overstress fracture that pointed back to the hole, indicating that the fracture emanated from the fastener hole. The overstress fracture region extended for about 3.5 inches from the hole. No evidence of corrosion was noted on the fracture region. Further examination of the fastener hole revealed that it contained machining marks and fretting. The composition and hardness of the material use to produce the spring were within manufacturer specifications. Review of the airplane's maintenance records revealed that the landing gear struts were removed from the fuselage, and floats were installed, in 1992. After about 2,158 hours of service, the floats were removed, and the original landing gear struts were re-installed. The airplane had accumulated about 3,598 hours of total service. The winds recorded at a nearby airport, at 1154, were from 150 degrees at 10 knots. The CFI reported that the winds at 40N, about the time of the accident, were from 180 degrees at 8 knots, gusting to 17 knots. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N65021](https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N65021), registered now, S/N 17275670, built 1982 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: Cessna 172P - Registry model: [Cessna 172P](https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-172p) (registry code 2072436) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Lycoming 0-320 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-0-320-series) (registry code 41508, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 17275670 - Airframe hours: 3577 - Engines: Lycoming O-329-D2J 160 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Instructional, Part 91 - Registered owner: David Marvin - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal - Last inspection: Annual, February 15, 2002, 20 hours before - Departed: N99, West Chester, PA - Destination: 40N, Cotesville, PA - Airport: 40N, Chester County, runway 11, 5,400 × 100 ft, asphalt ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Flight instructor; age 26; injuries: none; commercial, flight instructor; airplane ratings: multi-engine land, single-engine land; instrument ratings: airplane; medical: class 1, valid medical--no waivers/lim.; last flight review September 29, 2001; seat: right; flight hours: 2,546 total, 600 in this make and model, 2,425 as pilot in command, 150 in the last 90 days, 50 in the last 30 days, 4 in the last 24 hours - Student pilot; age 58; injuries: none; student; medical: class 3, valid medical--w/ waivers/lim; seat: left; flight hours: 35 total, 35 in this make and model, 15 in the last 90 days, 5 in the last 30 days ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: 150° at 10 knots - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: 20,000 ft overcast - Temperature: 50 °F, dew point 27 °F - Altimeter: 30.53 inHg - Observed at: PHL, 30 nm away ## 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 20020302004689A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20020302004689A), Mar 2, 2002: Cessna 172P, Chestercounty, PA, No damage. (-23) LH main gear leg broke just outside of the trunnion fixture which is the gear attach point, located under the floorboard in the fuselage. The gear leg… ## Docket (5 files) The files NTSB released with the investigation on May 15, 2003, on NTSB's docket system: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=54347. 2.9 MB in all. - Pilot/Operator Aircraft Accident Report, NTSB Form 6120.1 (item 1, .PDF, 341 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40391599&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Pilot%2FOperator%20Aircraft%20Accident%20Report,%20NTSB%20Form%206120.1-Redacted.PDF - Manufacturer's Report (item 2, .PDF, 2.3 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40181353&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Manufacturer%27s%20Report-Master.PDF - Correspondence (item 3, .PDF, 119 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40391600&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Correspondence-Redacted.PDF - Aircraft Registry Information (item 4, .PDF, 113 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40391602&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Aircraft%20Registry%20Information-Redacted.PDF - Weather Reports and Records (item 5, .PDF, 33 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40181357&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Weather%20Reports%20and%20Records-Master.PDF 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.