Fokker F.27MK 500 N712FE

Summary

On 8 March 2003 at about 15:27 local time, a Fokker F.27MK 500 registered N712FE, operated by Mountain Air Cargo Inc, was involved in an accident near Kinston, North Carolina, United States. 2 people were 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

8 March 2003 at 15:27

Classification

Accident

Location

Kinston, North Carolina, United States

Nearest airport

Kinston Regional Jetport (ISO)

Coordinates

35.3281, -77.6153

Aircraft

Fokker F.27MK 500

Registration

N712FE

Category

Airplane

Engines

2

Operator

Mountain Air Cargo Inc

Operating rule

Part 121: Air Carrier

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Greensboro → Kingston

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ATL03LA056

Nobody was injured.

The fatigue failure of the main drag stay tube. A factor is no inspection procedure required.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

According to the pilot, an unsafe right gear indication was received during the approach, and the control tower controller confirmed the right gear was not fully extended. On landing roll the right main landing gear collapsed and the airplane slid off of the runway. Examination of the right main landing gear revealed the drag brace was fractured. The fracture was located at the lower side of a transition from a smaller internal diameter on the upper piece to a larger internal diameter on the lower piece. The region of the fracture surface was flat and perpendicular to the tube longitudinal axis. The region had a smooth, curving boundary, also consistent with fatigue. The fatigue features emanated from multiple origins at the inner surface of the tube. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued an Airworthiness Directive (AD) requiring an inspections of main landing gear drag stay units. The AD was prompted by the fracture of a drag stay tube from fatigue cracking that initiated from an improperly machined transition radius at the inner surface of the tube. According to Fokker ,the Fokker F27 Mark 500 airplanes (such as the incident airplane) were not equipped with drag stay units having part number 200261001, 200485001, or 200684001. One tube, part number 200259300, had a change in internal diameter (stepped bore), and the other tube, part number 200485300, had a straight internal bore. AD 97-04-08 required an ultrasonic inspection to determine if the installed tube had a straight or stepped bore. A review of maintenance records revealed that the failed drag stay tube had accumulated 28, 285 total cycles.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.