- Date
- August 23, 2003, 12:30 local (16:30 UTC)
- Place
- Marion, OH
- Injuries
- 4 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N44222Cessna A185F
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report June 30, 2004
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- FAA FSDO-07
- FAA report
- 20030823023379A
- Case key
- 57759
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
Fatigue and corrosion of the right main landing gear attachment, which resulted in a gear collapse while 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.
Analysis
Shortly after touchdown, the airplane began to swerve left, and the pilot heard a scraping sound. The right main landing gear collapsed, the right wing contacted the runway, and the airplane came to rest on the runway. Examination of lower outboard portion of the right main landing gear leg revealed that the fracture occurred through the upper bolt hole attachment. The forward portion of the bolt hole exhibited three fatigue regions originating from corrosion pits. The aft portion of the bolt hole exhibited one fatigue region originating from a corrosion pit. The airplane had accumulated approximately 8,000 total hours of operation. Prior to the pilot's purchase of the airplane, it was operated as a bush plane in Guatemala.
Factual narrative
On August 23, 2003, about 1230 eastern daylight time, a Cessna A185F, N44222, was substantially damaged while landing at Marion Municipal Airport (MNN), Marion, Ohio. The certificated private pilot and three passengers were not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the flight that originated from Toledo Express Airport (TOL), Toledo, Ohio. No flight plan was filed for the personal flight conducted under 14 CFR Part 91.
The pilot stated that he touched down on runway 07 at MNN. Shortly after touchdown, the airplane began to swerve left, and the pilot heard a scraping sound. The right main landing gear collapsed, the right wing contacted the runway, and the airplane came to rest on the runway.
Examination of the airplane by a Federal Aviation Administration inspector revealed damage to the propeller, right wing, right main landing gear, and fuselage.
The lower outboard portion of the right main landing gear leg was forwarded to the Safety Board's Materials Laboratory. Further examination of the component revealed that the fracture occurred through the upper bolt hole attachment. The forward portion of the bolt hole exhibited three fatigue regions originating from corrosion pits. The aft portion of the bolt hole exhibited one fatigue region originating from a corrosion pit.
The pilot further stated that the airplane had accumulated approximately 8,000 total hours of operation. The airplane had accumulated 56 hours of operation since the last annual inspection, which was completed on March 14, 2003. Prior to the pilot's purchase of the airplane, it was operated as a "bush plane" in Guatemala.
The pilot reported a total flight experience of approximately 766 hours; of which, 136 hours were in the same make and model as the accident airplane.
The reported wind at the accident site, at 1253, was from 050 degrees at 6 knots.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N44222
- Reported as
- Cessna A185F
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 18503951
- Airframe hours
- 8,020
- Engine
- Continental IO-520, 300 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Joseph P. Deaton
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · March 14, 2003 · 56 hours before
- Departed
- TOL · Toledo, OH
- Destination
- MNN · Marion, OH
- Airport
- MNN · Marion Municipal Airport, runway 7, 5,000 × 100 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
- 44
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine sea, Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Last flight review
- September 1, 2002
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 766 total · 136 in this make and model · 655 as pilot in command · 23 in the last 90 days · 14 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 50° at 6 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 77 °F, dew point 57 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.17 inHg
- Observed at
- MNN
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.