# NTSB WPR14LA265: Piper PA 18-135, N949JP, Turner, OR, June 15, 2014 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: June 15, 2014, 12:00 local (19:00 UTC) - Place: Turner, OR - Coordinates: 44.769721, -122.96833 - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=44.7697&lon=-122.9683&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Landing](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/550) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Defining event: [Landing-landing roll: Landing gear collapse](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/094) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 1 uninjured - Status: Completed, report December 15, 2014 - Report: Approved by Office Director - NTSB office: Western Pacific Region - Parties: FAA FSDO - NTSB case key (mKey): 89516 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=WPR14LA265 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/89516/pdf - NTSB docket: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=89516 - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/WPR14LA265 ## Probable cause The collapse of the left main landing gear during landing roll for reasons that could not be determined because the pilot would not make the airplane available for a postaccident examination. ## Findings NTSB's coded findings; those marked are part of the probable cause. - [Not determined](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/05000000): Not determined › Not determined · Unknown/Not determined (probable cause); cases with it: [All aircraft, 2,247 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/05000000/cases.md) - [Landing gear system: main landing gear](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01023210): Aircraft › Aircraft systems · Failure (probable cause); cases with it: [All aircraft, 241 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01023210/cases.md) - [Performance/control parameters: directional control](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01062020): Aircraft › Aircraft oper/perf/capability · Attain/maintain not possible (probable cause); cases with it: [All aircraft, 3,958 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01062020/cases.md) ## Sequence of events The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event best describes what happened. - [Landing-landing roll: Landing gear collapse](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/094) (defining event); cases with it: [All aircraft, 1,787 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/094/sequence.md) - [Landing-landing roll: Runway excursion](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/300); cases with it: [All aircraft, 3,643 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/300/sequence.md) - [Landing-landing roll: Collision with terr/obj (non-CFIT) ](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/470); cases with it: [All aircraft, 10,189 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/470/sequence.md) ## Analysis The pilot of the amphibious float-equipped airplane was landing at his private airstrip following a personal local flight. During the landing roll, the left amphibious float's main wheel collapsed/retracted. The pilot said following the collapse of the wheel the airplane pulled hard to the left, which he was not able to control with right brake and rudder. The airplane departed the runway to the left, the float support structure collapsed, and the right wing was substantially damaged when it struck the ground. Prior to the collapse of the left wheel the pilot reported no known mechanical problems with the airplane. ## Factual narrative On June 15, 2014, about 1200 Pacific daylight time, an amphibious float-equipped Piper PA-18-135 airplane, N949JP, was substantially damaged during the landing roll at a private airstrip near Turner Oregon. The airplane was registered to and operated by the private pilot as a visual flight rules (VFR) personal local flight under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan had been filed. The solo pilot was not injured. During a telephone conversation with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigator-in-charge (IIC) on June 25, the pilot said that during the landing roll, the left amphibious float's main wheel collapsed/retracted. Following the collapse of the wheel the airplane pulled hard to the left, which he was not able to control with right brake and rudder. The airplane departed the runway to the left, the float support structure collapsed, and the right wing struck the ground. The right wing sustained structural damage from the lift strut outboard. Prior to the collapse of the left wheel there were no known mechanical problems with the airplane. A Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) aviation safety inspector examined the airplane at the accident site, and said marks on the runway were consistent with the pilot's claim of the left wheel collapsing, and the keel of the left float dragging on the runway. The inspector provided the IIC with photographs of the runway marks and the damage to the airplane. He was unable to examine the collapsed wheel during the initial examination, due to its position in the wreckage. The pilot did not submitted the NTSB 6120.1 PILOT/OPERATOR AIRCRAFT ACCIDENT/INCIDENT REPORT form, after multiple requests. The pilot has not complied with FAA requests to present the airplane's log books, and his personal flight logbooks for examination. The pilot did not make the airplane available for a postaccident examination. ## Aircraft - Registration: N949JP (not matched to a registry record) - Reported make and model: PIPER PA 18-135 (NO SERIES) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 18-3363 - Year built: 1953 - Engines: LYCOMING O-360-A1D 180 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Personal, Part 91 - Operator: Curtright William Ames - Registered owner: Curtright William Ames - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal - Departed: 21OG, Turner, OR - Destination: 21OG, Turner, OR - Airport: 21OG, Ames, runway 14, 1,800 × 40 ft, asphalt ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 70; injuries: none; private; airplane ratings: single-engine sea, single-engine land; medical: class 3, with waivers/limitations; seat: front; flight hours: 100 total, 100 in this make and model ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: none ## Docket (4 files) The files NTSB released with the investigation on October 6, 2014, on NTSB's docket system: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=89516. 539 KB in all. - Record of Conversation - FAA Inspector's Statement (item 1, .PDF, 61 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40417434&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Record%20of%20Conversation%20-%20FAA%20Inspector%27s%20Statement-Master.PDF - Record of Conversation - Pilot (item 2, .PDF, 60 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40417435&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Record%20of%20Conversation%20-%20Pilot-Master.PDF - Photo 1 - Left Keel Drag Marks on Runway (item 3, .PDF, 226 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40417436&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Photo%201%20-%20Left%20Keel%20Drag%20Marks%20on%20Runway-Master.PDF - Photo 2 - Right Wing (item 4, .PDF, 192 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40417437&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Photo%202%20-%20Right%20Wing-Master.PDF 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.