- Date
- July 7, 2005, 09:15 local (13:15 UTC)
- Place
- Medina, OH
- Injuries
- 4 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N318RFCessna 421B
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report April 25, 2006
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- FAA FSDO-25
- FAA report
- 20050707016449A
- Case key
- 61910
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
An overload failure of the left main landing gear attachment assembly.
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 airplane landed on a 3,556-foot-long, 75-foot-wide, asphalt runway. Immediately after touchdown, the left main landing gear collapsed, and the airplane veered left into a ditch. A piece of the left main landing gear upper trunnion assembly was recovered near the point of touchdown. Metallurgical examination of the component revealed that the fracture face exhibited evidence of overload, with no fatigue noted.
Factual narrative
On July 7, 2005, about 0915 eastern daylight time, a Cessna 421B, N318RF, was substantially damaged while landing at Medina Municipal Airport (1G5), Medina, Ohio. The certificated commercial pilot and three passengers were not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the flight destined to Raleigh, North Carolina. An instrument flight rules flight plan was filed for the business flight conducted under 14 CFR Part 91.
The pilot stated that approximately 30 minutes after departure, the decision was made to return to 1G5 due to a high oil temperature indication on the left engine. The pilot utilized the VOR Runway 27 approach at 1G5, and extended the landing gear at the final approach fix. The pilot noted a "3 green" landing gear indication, which he confirmed again just prior to touchdown. The pilot further stated that the airplane touched down normally on runway 27, a 3,556-foot-long, 75-foot-wide, asphalt runway. Immediately after touchdown, the left wing dropped toward the ground and the airplane began to veer left. The airplane traveled off the left side of the runway, struck a ditch, and came to rest upright.
Examination of the airplane by a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector revealed that the left main landing gear had collapsed. The inspector recovered a piece of the left main landing gear upper trunnion assembly near the point of touchdown. The component was forwarded to the Safety Board's materials laboratory for further examination. That examination revealed that the fracture face exhibited evidence of overload, with no fatigue noted.
The airplane had accumulated approximately 152 hours since its last annual inspection, which was performed about 11 months prior to the accident. In addition, FAA records revealed that the left main landing gear had a prior collapse on December 29, 2003, while the airplane was being operated by a different owner. The prior event was classified as an incident, and was not investigated by the Safety Board.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N318RF
- Reported as
- Cessna 421B
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 421B0245
- Airframe hours
- 6,100
- Engines
- Continental GTSIO-520, 375 horsepower, reciprocatingContinental GTSIO-520, 375 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Business · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Omni Air Llc
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · August 1, 2004 · 152 hours before
- Departed
- 1G5 · Medina, OH
- Destination
- RDU · Raleigh, NC
- Flight plan
- IFR
- Airport
- 1G5 · Medina Municipal Airport, runway 27, 3,556 × 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
- 50
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Without waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- May 1, 2005
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 3,084 total · 32 in this make and model · 3,014 as pilot in command · 197 in the last 90 days · 66 in the last 30 days · 3 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 70° at 4 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 25,000 ft broken
- Temperature
- 75 °F, dew point 63 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.10 inHg
- Observed at
- CLE, 17 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.