Cessna 120 N3124N
24 October 2015 · Lone Pine, California, United States · No injuries
Summary
On 24 October 2015 at about 22:00 local time, a Cessna 120 registered N3124N was involved in an accident near Lone Pine, California, United States. One person was 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.
The record
- Date
- at 22:00
- Classification
- Accident
- Location
- Lone Pine, California, United States
- Nearest airport
- Lone Pine (O26)
- Coordinates
- 36.5889, -118.0475
- Aircraft
- Cessna 120
- Registration
- N3124N
- Category
- Airplane
- Year built
- 1947
- Engines
- 1
- Operator
- Not recorded
- Operating rule
- Part 91: General Aviation
- Purpose of flight
- Personal
- Phase of flight
- Not recorded
- Route
- Lone Pine → Tehachapi
- Aircraft damage
- Substantial
- Weather
- VMC
- Light
- Day
- NTSB number
- WPR16LA018
People
Nobody was injured.
| On board | Died | Serious | Minor | Uninjured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Probable cause
The fracture of the left main landing gear (MLG) wheel axle due to fatigue, which resulted in the separation of the left MLG wheel during takeoff from a dirt airstrip.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.
Read the full NTSB narrative
The private pilot was taking off from a dirt airstrip for a personal cross-country flight. He reported that, during the takeoff roll, it felt like the left main landing gear had hit soft soil and that the drag had increased. He attempted to correct for the condition, but the left MLG wheel continued to drag. The airplane then suddenly nosed over, which resulted in substantial damage to the wings and empennage. Postaccident examination of the airplane revealed that the left MLG wheel axle was fractured, which resulted in the separation of the left MLG wheel. A detailed examination of the fracture surface identified a fatigue fracture that emanated from the outer surface of a circumferential weld between the lateral tube portion and the vertical plate portion of the axle. The investigation could not determine what event initiated the fatigue cracking; however, the origin areas were covered in zinc-chromate primer, which indicates that the axle was painted when the circumferential weld contained a preexisting crack.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.
Other Cessna 120 accidents
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 Nov 2015 | Cessna 120 | Gonzales, Louisiana, United States | Graham Aviation LLC | Serious injuries | - |
| 17 Oct 2015 | Cessna 120 | McKinney, Texas, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 18 Sep 2016 | Cessna 120 | Davis, California, United States | - | Serious injuries | - |
| 28 Apr 2014 | Cessna 120 | Fairbanks, Alaska, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 10 Jun 2016 | Cessna 120 | Climax, North Carolina, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 9 Mar 2014 | Cessna 120 | Carson City, Nevada, United States | - | Fatal | 1 |
Other accidents in this area
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 26 Dec 2015 | Boeing 737 76N | San Diego, California, United States | Southwest Airlines Co | Serious injuries | - |
| 9 Jun 2015 | Grumman Acft Eng Cor-Schweizer G 164A | Bakersfield, California, United States | Nelson Kenneth D | No injuries | - |
| 1 Feb 2015 | Robinson R44 II | Calexico, California, United States | John Reed Aviation | No injuries | - |
| 14 Apr 2015 | Robert C Hanson PITTS S2E | Lebec, California, United States | - | Fatal | 1 |
| 17 Apr 2015 | Piper PA 18-150 | La Quinta, California, United States | - | Minor injuries | - |
| 18 Apr 2015 | Cessna 206H | Redding, California, United States | McClelland Aviation Inc | Fatal | 1 |