Pacific 750XL N750SS

Summary

On 9 May 2014 at about 18:00 local time, a Pacific 750XL registered N750SS, operated by DC Skydiving, was involved in an accident near Warrenton, Virginia, 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

9 May 2014 at 18:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Warrenton, Virginia, United States

Nearest airport

Warrenton Air Park (7VG0)

Coordinates

38.6556, -77.7872

Aircraft

Pacific 750XL

Registration

N750SS

Category

Airplane

Year built

2005

Engines

1

Operator

DC Skydiving

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Skydiving

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Warrenton → Warrenton

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA14LA235

Nobody was injured.

The pilot’s improper landing flare, which resulted in a hard landing and separation of the left main landing gear.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

According to the commercial pilot, following a skydiving operation, he returned to the airport. During the landing attempt and as the airplane was about 15 ft above ground level, the airplane banked left and the left main landing gear (MLG) then contacted the turf runway, so he immediately performed a go-around. Ground personnel subsequently contacted the pilot via radio to inform him that the left MLG had separated from the airplane. The pilot then performed an emergency landing, and, during the landing roll, the left wing contacted the runway, which resulted in substantial damage to the left wing spar. Examination of the left MLG revealed that three of the lower clamp's bolts were fractured, and an aft outboard bending moment was noted on the clamp piece. Fretting marks indicative of clamp movement were also noted. Although it could not be determined when the fretting occurred, it likely resulted from the initial hard landing. Further, several pieces of a polyurethane-based material were found within the left fuel tank. The fracture surfaces on these materials and on the left MLG bolts exhibited overstress damage consistent with a hard landing. Therefore, it is likely that the pilot improperly flared the airplane, which resulted in a hard landing and the subsequent separation of the left MLG.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.