Cessna 402C N769EA

Summary

On 31 August 2012 at about 20:30 local time, a Cessna 402C registered N769EA, operated by Hyannis Air Service Inc, was involved in an incident near Nantucket, Massachusetts, United States. 10 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

31 August 2012 at 20:30

Classification

Incident

Location

Nantucket, Massachusetts, United States

Nearest airport

Nantucket Memorial Airport (ACK)

Coordinates

41.2531, -70.0603

Aircraft

Cessna 402C

Registration

N769EA

Category

Airplane

Engines

2

Operator

Hyannis Air Service Inc

Operating rule

Part 135: Air Taxi & Commuter

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Hyannis → Nantucket

Aircraft damage

Minor

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA12IA550

Nobody was injured.

Company maintenance personnel’s failure to comply with the airplane manufacturer’s service instructions by not removing the cracked drag brace from service nor inspecting the repaired drag brace at the appropriate interval, which resulted in the failure of the nose landing gear drag brace due to fatigue cracking and collapse of the nose landing gear during the landing roll. Contributing to the failure of the nose landing gear drag brace was the failure of the repair station to detect a remaining portion of a crack following repair.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

While on approach for a full-stop landing, the pilot extended the landing gear and performed the Before Landing checklist. The airplane landed on its main landing gear, and then, as the pilot lowered the nose, it continued to lower until it contacted the runway. Postincident examination of the airplane revealed that the nose landing gear drag brace failed near the nose landing gear actuator attachment lug due to a fatigue crack. A review of maintenance records revealed that a crack in the nose landing gear drag brace was repaired in June 2011 and that, following the repair, the drag brace had been installed on two other company airplanes. In July 2012, the nose landing gear drag brace was removed from the second airplane for inspection, during which, a 1/8-inch-long shallow crack was found near the actuator attachment lugs. The crack was blended in accordance with Cessna Service Bulletin MEB91-11, Revision 1, and then a fluorescent dye penetrant inspection of the area was performed. The inspection did not detect any further cracks; however, it is likely that, at this time, some portion of the crack remained. After the drag brace was returned to service, it was installed on the incident airplane on August 3, 2012. Subsequently, the nose landing gear drag brace was visually inspected in-situ twice; however, neither inspection identified the fatigue crack. At the time of the incident, the airplane had been operated for about 286 cycles since the crack repair in July 2012, which exceeded the 250-cycle inspection interval specified by MEB91-11R1. It is likely that, if the nose landing gear drag brace had been inspected after 250 landings in accordance with the manufacturer's service instructions, the crack would have been detected at that time. Additionally, if the operator had incorporated into its maintenance program Supplemental Inspection 32-20-00, which stated, in part, that the nose landing gear drag braces should be inspected using visual and eddy current inspections and that repair or modification of cracked nose landing gear drag braces was not allowed, it is likely that the nose landing gear drag brace would have been removed from service in July 2012.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.