# NTSB SEA06CA048: Cessna A185E, N2303Y, Lewiston, ID, January 30, 2006 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Data collection · Final report - Date: January 30, 2006, 11:30 local (19:30 UTC) - Place: Lewiston, ID - Coordinates: 46.000831, -116.692222 - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=46.0008&lon=-116.6922&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Landing](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/550) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 3 uninjured - Status: Completed, report May 30, 2006 - Report: Approved by Office Director - NTSB case key (mKey): 63172 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=SEA06CA048 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/63172/pdf - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/SEA06CA048 ## Probable cause The failure of the left main landing gear attaching bolt, which resulted in the left main gear collapsing during the landing roll. ## Sequence of events In NTSB's coding before 2008 (https://www.ntsb.gov/GILS/Documents/codman.pdf). - Airframe/component/system failure/malfunction, landing - roll - landing gear,main gear attachment - failure (cause) - Main gear collapsed, landing - roll - On ground/water encounter with terrain/water, landing - roll - terrain condition - dirt bank/rising embankment ## Analysis According to the pilot, upon touchdown, the left landing gear leg "started to fail" as the airplane's weight came onto the wheels. The left gear folded outward, and the airplane veered to the left. The airplane's left wing tip contacted an embankment, and the airplane came to a stop. Examination of the airplane by an FAA inspector revealed that there was structural damage to the left gear box, left wing strut, left wing tip, left aileron, the rear spar of the left wing, and the propeller. The inspector found that the 7/16-inch AN bolt that held the left gear leg to the fuselage failed in shear loading. Failure of the bolt allowed the gear to pivot on the landing gear box leading to failure of the lower landing gear box web. ## Factual narrative On January 30, 2006, about 1130 Pacific standard time, a Cessna A185E, N2303Y, sustained substantial damage when the left main landing gear collapsed during landing at a private airstrip approximately 25 nautical miles south southeast of Lewiston, Idaho. The private pilot and the two passengers aboard were not injured. The airplane was registered to the Bentz Fence Company Inc. of Lewiston and operated by the pilot. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed for the 14 CFR Part 91 personal flight that departed from the Lewiston - Nez Perce County Airport about 1100 with an intended destination of the private airstrip. According to the pilot, upon touchdown, the left landing gear leg "started to fail" as the airplane's weight came onto the wheels. The left gear folded outward, and the airplane veered to the left. The airplane's left wing tip contacted an embankment, and the airplane came to a stop. Examination of the airplane by an FAA inspector revealed that there was structural damage to the left gear box, left wing strut, left wing tip, left aileron, the rear spar of the left wing, and the propeller. The inspector found that the 7/16-inch AN bolt that held the left gear leg to the fuselage failed in shear loading. Failure of the bolt allowed the gear to pivot on the landing gear box leading to failure of the lower landing gear box web. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N2303Y](https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N2303Y), registered now, S/N 185-01868, built 1971 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: Cessna A185E - Registry model: [Cessna A185E](https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-a185e) (registry code 2072818) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Continental IO-520 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-io-520-series) (registry code 17032, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 185-01868 - Engines: Continental IO-520-D reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Personal, Part 91 - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal - Departed: LWS, Lewiston, ID - Destination: Lewiston, ID - Airport: NONE, Private Airstrip, runway UNK ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 60; injuries: none; private; airplane ratings: single-engine land; instrument ratings: airplane; medical: class 3; flight hours: 3,264 total, 2,984 in this make and model ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day ## 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 20060130001389A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20060130001389A), Jan 30, 2006: Cessna A185E, Deer Creek, ID, Substantial damage. (-23) At approximately 1130 hours on 01-30-2006, while landing at Deer Creek airport, a Private strip on the salmon river, the left hand landing gear leg broke… ## Other investigations on N2303Y (1) 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. - [NTSB WPR13CA199](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/WPR13CA199), Apr 7, 2013: Cessna A185E (N2303Y), Cottonwood, ID, substantial damage. Probable cause: The pilot’s failure to see and avoid an object on the grass airstrip during the takeoff. 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.