- Date
- May 5, 2002, 10:00 local (14:00 UTC)
- Place
- Andover, NJ
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N112JFD'Apuzzo D-260
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report January 16, 2003
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- FAA FSDO-05
- FAA report
- 20020505007769A
- Case key
- 54640
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 pilot's failure to obtain proper runway alignment while landing, which resulted in a gear collapse.
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 pilot stated that as the airplane touched down on the runway, he heard a "pop," and the left main gear collapsed. Two witnesses reported that the airplane touched down hard, and with a side load on the landing gear. Examination of the left main landing gear revealed that two 5/16-inch bolts secured the spring gear to the airframe. One of the two bolts had sheared, and the other was bent. According to a Safety Board Metallurgist, the bolt failure was consistent with a direct shear ductile overstress separation.
Factual narrative
On May 5, 2002, about 1000 eastern daylight time, a D'Apuzzo D-260 homebuilt airplane, N112JF, was substantially damaged while landing at Aeroflex-Andover Airport (12N), Andover, New Jersey. The certificated private pilot was not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed for the personal flight conducted under 14 CFR Part 91.
The pilot stated that about 0930, he departed a private airstrip in Nazareth, Pennsylvania, and flew to 12N. As the airplane touched down on runway 21, the pilot heard a "pop". The left main gear collapsed, and the airplane traveled off the left side of the runway. It came to rest in the grass, and the lower left wing spar sustained damage. The pilot added that he did not land hard.
A witness stated that the airplane touched down hard and the landing gear sustained a side load. The witness then heard a "pop," and the airplane veered left.
Another witness reported: "...the plane approach at a severe sideway angle. The plane attempted to straighten out but was unable to do so. As the plane touched down it bounced hard."
Examination of the left main landing gear by a Federal Aviation Administration inspector revealed that two 5/16-inch bolts secured the spring gear to the airframe. One of the two bolts had sheared, and the other was bent. The sheared bolt was forwarded to the Safety Board's Material Laboratory for further examination. According to a Safety Board Metallurgist, the failure was consistent with a direct shear ductile overstress separation.
The reported wind at an airport approximately 10 miles northeast of the accident site, at 0953, was variable at 3 knots.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N112JF
- Reported as
- D'Apuzzo D-260
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- 10913A
- Airframe hours
- 987
- Engine
- Continental E-225, 225 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Charles D Popinko
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · October 20, 2001 · 10 hours before
- Departed
- NONE · Nazareth, PA
- Destination
- 12N · Andover, NJ
- Airport
- 12N · Aeroflex-Andover Airport, runway 21, 1,981 × 50 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
- 48
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Last flight review
- June 28, 2000
- Seat
- Rear
- Flight hours
- 500 total · 207 in this make and model · 3 in the last 90 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Variable at 3 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 59 °F, dew point 43 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.28 inHg
- Observed at
- FWN, 10 nm away
Docket · 5
The files NTSB released with the investigation on November 7, 2002, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 865 KB in all.
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.