Cessna 140 N73053

Summary

On 12 June 2019 at about 21:15 local time, a Cessna 140 registered N73053 was involved in an accident near Independence, Oregon, 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

12 June 2019 at 21:15

Classification

Accident

Location

Independence, Oregon, United States

Nearest airport

Independence State (7S5)

Coordinates

44.8672, -123.1983

Aircraft

Cessna 140

Registration

N73053

Category

Airplane

Year built

1946

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Newport → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

WPR19LA169

Nobody was injured.

Fatigue failure of the right landing gear axle, which resulted in a loss of control during the landing roll.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

According to the instructor, the accident landing was the second landing of the flight. As the tailwheel-equipped airplane was slowing down and they were exiting the runway, there was a loud "clunk." The airplane slid sideways, bounced, and then ground looped, resulting in substantial damage to the fuselage. The instructor reported that the right wheel assembly separated at the axle. Examination of the fractured axle assembly revealed that the axle fractured at the transition radius between the longitudinal barrel (tube) portion and the plate portion. A fatigue crack emanated from multiple origins at the outer surface of the transition radius and extended circumferentially around the outer surface of the transition radius. The fracture features outside of the fatigue region showed features consistent with overstress separation. The maintenance history of the landing gear and axle could not be determined. The fatigue crack started at the transition radius most likely as the result of a hard landing or several hard landings. Once the fatigue crack started, the crack propagated during taxiing and additional takeoffs and landings.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.