Cessna 172RG N5095V

Summary

On 8 November 2011 at about 23:50 local time, a Cessna 172RG registered N5095V, operated by Sun State Aviation Inc, was involved in an accident near Kissimmee, Florida, 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 November 2011 at 23:50

Classification

Accident

Location

Kissimmee, Florida, United States

Nearest airport

Kissimee Gateway (ISM)

Coordinates

28.2897, -81.4369

Aircraft

Cessna 172RG

Registration

N5095V

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Sun State Aviation Inc

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Kissimmee → Kissimmee

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA12LA070

Nobody was injured.

A fatigue failure of the right main landing gear pivot assembly, which prevented the landing gear from extending.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot was not able to obtain a positive gear down-and-locked indication and noticed that the right main landing gear (MLG) only extended about halfway down. After unsuccessful troubleshooting efforts, he performed an emergency gear-up landing, which resulted in substantial damage to the underside of the fuselage. Examination of the landing gear system revealed that the stub shaft of the right MLG pivot assembly was fractured and exhibited characteristics consistent with a torsional fatigue fracture containing multiple origins. Before the accident flight, a company mechanic observed some hydraulic fluid on the MLG leg and assumed that there was a leak from the pivot gear O-rings, which he replaced. The Federal Aviation Administration previously issued an airworthiness directive (AD), which included an inspection of MLG pivot assemblies for cracks, in accordance with a manufacturer's service bulletin. The AD did not call for repetitive inspections. At the time of the accident, the airplane had been operated for about 7,755 total hours and about 1,800 hours since the time of AD compliance. The airplane service manual contained a supplemental inspection that included initial visual and eddy current inspections of the MLG pivot assembly for cracks in the spline area at 3,000 hours in service with repeated inspections every 500 hours thereafter. The visual and eddy current inspections had not been nor were they required to be performed on the accident airplane.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.