Plane Crash List

Cessna 140 N527ST

8 April 2004 · Greenville, South Carolina, United States · No injuries

Summary

On 8 April 2004 at about 18:41 local time, a Cessna 140 registered N527ST was involved in an accident near Greenville, South Carolina, 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.

The record

Date
at 18:41
Classification
Accident
Location
Greenville, South Carolina, United States
Nearest airport
Greenville Downtown Airport (KGMU)
Coordinates
34.8478, -82.3500
Aircraft
Cessna 140
Registration
N527ST
Category
Airplane
Engines
1
Operator
Not recorded
Operating rule
Part 91: General Aviation
Purpose of flight
Personal
Phase of flight
Not recorded
Route
Clemson → Greenville
Aircraft damage
Substantial
Weather
VMC
Light
Day
NTSB number
ATL04LA092

People

Nobody was injured.

On board Died Serious Minor Uninjured
1 0 0 0 1

Probable cause

Fatigue failure of the leaf spring gear strut.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot was cleared to land and went through his approach check with everything normal. The airplane crossed over the landing threshold and settled onto the runway in a three point landing attitude. During the landing roll, the pilot felt the left wing start to dip and the airplane vibrating. The airplane turned approximately 20-degrees to the right, the left front side struck the runway and the airplane came to a stop. The pilot had completed a series of touch and go landings, and during the accident landing, the leaf spring landing gear assembly broke. Examination revealed that the leaf spring gear strut fracture stemmed from an area of fatigue cracking that initiated at the upper forward side of the inboard hole for the step attachment bolts. Given the observed corrosion in the bolt hole, it was determined that the fatigue originated from corrosion pitting. For fatigue to initiate at the upper side of the spring strut, the upper side must have been placed in tension. According to the aircraft maintenance logbook for the 1946 built airplane, the leaf spring gear assembly and the total airframe time was 3,375 hours.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.

Other Cessna 140 accidents

Date Aircraft Location Operator Outcome Died
15 Sep 2004 Cessna 140
N1629V
North Pole, Alaska, United States - No injuries -
31 Jul 2004 Cessna 140
N89617
Wimauma, Florida, United States Robert Mueller No injuries -
12 Jan 2004 Cessna 140
N77S
Vacaville, California, United States - Serious injuries -
1 Aug 2004 Cessna 140
N2632N
Kingston, Oklahoma, United States Thomas J. Teegarden No injuries -
18 Mar 2004 Cessna 140
N2435V
Portland, Texas, United States William F. Mauch Serious injuries -
6 Dec 2004 Cessna 140
N3571V
Spanaway, Washington, United States - Minor injuries -

All 1,576 records for this type

Other accidents in this area

Date Aircraft Location Operator Outcome Died
9 Dec 2004 Diamond DA40-180
N42SE
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25 Oct 2004 Beechcraft BE-P35
N32AB
Aiken, South Carolina, United States - Fatal 1
23 Oct 2004 North American HARVARD II T-6
N92871
Leesville, South Carolina, United States T-6 LLC Fatal 2
2 Apr 2004 Cessna 172N
N271EP
Columbia, South Carolina, United States Avion Air Academy No injuries -
5 Apr 2004 Smith AEROSTAR 601P
N869CC
Johns Island, South Carolina, United States Paul C. Evans (president Aero Dreams, LLC) Fatal 2
7 Feb 2004 Piper PA-28-161
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Summerville, South Carolina, United States - Minor injuries -

All 170,864 records in United States