Maule MT-7-235 N3010Q

Summary

On 26 May 2006 at about 01:15 local time, a Maule MT-7-235 registered N3010Q was involved in an accident near Flushing, Michigan, 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

26 May 2006 at 01:15

Classification

Accident

Location

Flushing, Michigan, United States

Nearest airport

Dalton (3DA)

Coordinates

43.0542, -83.8078

Aircraft

Maule MT-7-235

Registration

N3010Q

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Clare → Flushing

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CHI06LA137

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's selection of unsuitable terrain for landing, which resulted in the collapse of the amphibian float's nose wheels, and a nose over during the landing roll. Factors associated with the accident were the soft grass runway, and the collapse of the nose wheel fittings.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The amphibian airplane sustained substantial damage when it nosed over during the landing roll on a soft, grass runway with the landing gear in the down position. The pilot reported he decided to land on the grass runway instead of the available asphalt runway because of favorable winds. The landing was normal until about 150 feet into the landing roll. The pilot reported that the small castoring wheels on the amphibian floats sank into the soft ground, and "caused our plane to pole-vault onto its tail." Inspection of the runway revealed that there was about 3/4 inch of standing water on the runway. The left and right landing gear drag braces and the left and right nose wheel castor housings were sent to the Materials Laboratory at the National Transportation Safety Board for inspection. The metallurgical inspection revealed that the fracture surfaces of the weld between the forward end of the struts, and the castor bodies exhibited deformation consistent with overstress with the nose wheel moving aft relative to the strut.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.