- Date
- August 21, 1992, 15:50 local (21:50 UTC)
- Place
- Billings, MT
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N78BSSchaknowski Dyke Delta JD-2
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report September 14, 1993
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19920821032599A
- Case key
- 42882
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 of the left main landing gear axle.
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
Upon touchdown the aircraft's left main landing gear separated. The pilot reported that the landing was not hard and was free of side loads. FAA examination of the separated wheel assembly following the accident revealed that the left main landing gear axle had separated allowing the wheel to disengage followed by the separation of the strut. Further examination of the left wheel axle revealed a pre-existing crack consistent with fatigue.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N78BS
- Reported as
- Schaknowski Dyke Delta JD-2 (DYKE DELTA)
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- 1077
- Airframe hours
- 960
- Engine
- Lycoming O-360-A4A, 180 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Schaknowski, Bernard J.
- Registered owner
- Schaknowski, Bernard J.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · June 25, 1992 · 40 hours before
- Departed
- MSO · Missoula, MT
- Airport
- BIL · Billings Logan Intnl, runway 7, 5,500 × 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
- 58
- Certificate
- Private
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Flight hours
- 1,735 total · 960 in this make and model · 45 in the last 90 days · 35 in the last 30 days · 6 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 360° at 7 knots
- Visibility
- 40 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 10,000 ft broken
- Temperature
- 75 °F, dew point 54 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- BIL, 1 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.