Waco ARE N20953

Summary

On 22 June 2003 at about 16:15 local time, a Waco ARE registered N20953 was involved in an accident near Battle Creek, Michigan, United States. One person was on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

22 June 2003 at 16:15

Classification

Accident

Location

Battle Creek, Michigan, United States

Nearest airport

W K Kellogg (BTL)

Coordinates

42.3072, -85.2514

Aircraft

Waco ARE

Registration

N20953

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

St Louis → Battle Creek

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CHI03LA177

Nobody was injured.

The inadequate material used in the landing gear cross supports leading to its collapse during the landing roll.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

The airplane sustained substantial damage on impact with the runway during landing roll. The pilot reported that weather was clear with winds variable at 5 kts and was not a factor. The pilot stated, "Ground roll continued, aircraft came to the left a bit, inputted a little right rudder to correct. At this point, there was a sudden and strong learch forward. Aircraft quickly came to a stop on the runway, near centerline. Aircraft came to rest in pitched down, left wing low attitude with the left lower wingtip on the ground. ... Upon walking around the airplane, found the left main gear had collapsed and swung completely under the forward fuselage and rested against the right main gear." A post-accident inspection revealed that the left main gear cross-support had failed. An examination revealed that the landing gear cross supports did not show any apparent pre-existing conditions. The metal evident in the exposed crack areas did not have any signs of rust. Subsequent to the accident, the pilot determined that the cross support material used in the landing gear structure was not in accordance with the original design specifications. The original drawings on file at the Smithsonian Institute showed that the original wall thickness was greater than the failed material. The pilot stated that the airplane was repaired using the wall thickness specified in the original drawings.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.