Cessna 180 N6479X
3 May 2016 · Naknek, Alaska, United States · No injuries
Summary
On 3 May 2016 at about 20:30 local time, a Cessna 180 registered N6479X was involved in an accident near Naknek, Alaska, 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 20:30
- Classification
- Accident
- Location
- Naknek, Alaska, United States
- Nearest airport
- Naknek (5NK)
- Coordinates
- 58.7350, -157.0219
- Aircraft
- Cessna 180
- Registration
- N6479X
- Category
- Airplane
- Year built
- 1961
- Engines
- 1
- Operator
- Not recorded
- Operating rule
- Part 91: General Aviation
- Purpose of flight
- Personal
- Phase of flight
- Not recorded
- Route
- Soldotna → Naknek
- Aircraft damage
- Substantial
- Weather
- VMC
- Light
- Day
- NTSB number
- ANC16LA024
People
Nobody was injured.
| On board | Died | Serious | Minor | Uninjured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Probable cause
The overstress fracture and subsequent separation of the left main landing gear axle due to a hard landing, which resulted in the pilot’s inability to maintain directional control of the airplane.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.
Read the full NTSB narrative
The commercial pilot stated that, during the landing rollout in the tailwheel-equipped airplane, the left wheel axle fractured and separated from the airplane with the wheel attached. The left landing gear leg then dug into the runway surface, the airplane made a sudden left turn, and the left wing and left horizontal stabilizer struck the runway. An examination of the fractured left axle revealed features consistent with a bending overstress fracture. High magnification optical examination of the fracture also revealed several small fatigue cracks within the crack origin area. Although several fatigue initiation sites were present along the fracture origin area, none of them were large enough to have led to the failure or to have significantly lowered the ultimate strength of the axle enough for a bending overstress failure to occur under normal loading conditions. Therefore, it is likely the landing gear axle failed as a result of bending overstress due to a hard landing.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.
Other Cessna 180 accidents
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15 Jan 2016 | Cessna 180 | Sussex, New Jersey, United States | Network Spares | No injuries | - |
| 6 Jul 2016 | Cessna 180 | New Durham, New Hampshire, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 4 Jul 2016 | Cessna 180 | Nome, Alaska, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 14 Feb 2016 | Cessna 180 | Sleetmute, Alaska, United States | Crow Jack R | No injuries | - |
| 3 Sep 2016 | Cessna 180 | Yakutat, Alaska, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 5 Sep 2016 | Cessna 180 | Clemson, South Carolina, United States | - | No injuries | - |
All 2,729 records for this type
Other accidents in this area
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 22 May 2016 | Piper PA18 | Seward, Alaska, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 19 Aug 2016 | Piper PA 18-150 | Palmer, Alaska, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 2 Dec 2016 | Robinson R22 | Unalaska, Alaska, United States | Bering Pacific Ranches Ltd. | Minor injuries | - |
| 20 Aug 2016 | Cessna 172 | Anchorage, Alaska, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 23 Aug 2016 | Cessna T207 | Nanwalek, Alaska, United States | Smokey Bay Air Inc | No injuries | - |
| 22 Sep 2016 | Bellanca 7GCBC | Soldotna, Alaska, United States | - | No injuries | - |