Cessna 402C N402VN

Summary

On 27 July 2010 at about 16:15 local time, a Cessna 402C registered N402VN, operated by Hyannis Air Service Inc, was involved in an incident near San Juan, United States. 2 people were on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was slightly damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

27 July 2010 at 16:15

Classification

Incident

Location

San Juan, United States

Nearest airport

Luis Munoz Marin International (SJU)

Coordinates

18.4392, -66.0019

Aircraft

Cessna 402C

Registration

N402VN

Category

Airplane

Engines

2

Operator

Hyannis Air Service Inc

Operating rule

Part 135: Air Taxi & Commuter

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Isla de Vieques → San Juan

Aircraft damage

Minor

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA10IA384

Nobody was injured.

The airplane manufacturer’s inadequate inspection procedures, resulting in the undetected fatigue cracking of the right upper barrel and trunnion assembly.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

Following the pilot’s brake application during the landing roll, an undetected fatigue crack that originated on the right upper barrel and trunnion assembly resulted in the separation of the lower portion of the landing gear. The airplane came to rest upright and the pilot and passenger successfully evacuated. A postincident inspection of the failed barrel revealed fatigue that originated on the outer surface and penetrated approximately 90 percent of the wall thickness. At the time of the incident, the operator had been performing visual inspections of the barrels looking for leaks due to cracking from the inside; the last visual inspection of the barrel was performed about 62 hours earlier. At the time of the incident, the manufacturer did not have a special inspection in place to detect fatigue cracks on the outer surface of the barrel, though there had been previous incidents and accidents in which the barrel of the upper barrel and trunnion assembly was documented to have failed due to undetected fatigue cracks that originated on the outer surface.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.