Ryan NAVION N27AW

Summary

On 27 July 2019 at about 21:17 local time, a Ryan NAVION registered N27AW was involved in an accident near Chicago, Illinois, United States. 4 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

27 July 2019 at 21:17

Classification

Accident

Location

Chicago, Illinois, United States

Nearest airport

Chicago Midway Intl (MDW)

Coordinates

41.7831, -87.7450

Aircraft

Ryan NAVION

Registration

N27AW

Category

Airplane

Year built

1950

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Kenosha → Chicago

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN19LA251

Nobody was injured.

The failure of the left main landing gear upper side brace assembly during landing due to reverse bending fatigue as a result of the incomplete penetration of the circumferential weld during initial production of the component.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot reported that as the airplane touched down on the dry concrete runway, he heard a "snap" noise but that the landing was "smooth and normal." He taxied the entire length of the runway for the rollout but then had difficulty taxiing the airplane straight. The pilot thought that he had a flat tire until he exited the airplane and saw that the left main landing gear had failed.  A postaccident examination revealed the left main landing gear upper side brace assembly fractured due to reverse bending fatigue at the circumferential weld between the middle tube and the fork at the inboard end of the assembly. The fatigue initiated from the tip of the weld in areas of incomplete weld penetration. The weld was performed during initial production of the component. The fatigue cracks extended radially outward from the interior surface of the tube, but the fatigue region did not intersect the outer surface. Thus, the cracks likely would not have been detected by visual inspection. The failure of the weld resulted in the displacement of the left main landing gear strut outboard toward the wingtip, which caused substantial damage to the underside of the left wing. 

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.