Gilbert R Ringer GP4 C-GPEX
27 April 2023 · Stratford, Connecticut, United States · No injuries
Summary
On 27 April 2023 at about 13:30 local time, a Gilbert R Ringer GP4 registered C-GPEX was involved in an accident near Stratford, Connecticut, 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 13:30
- Classification
- Accident
- Location
- Stratford, Connecticut, United States
- Nearest airport
- Igor I Sikorsky Meml (BDR)
- Coordinates
- 41.1643, -73.1223
- Aircraft
- Gilbert R Ringer GP4
- Registration
- C-GPEX
- Category
- Airplane
- Year built
- 2016
- Engines
- 1
- Operator
- Not recorded
- Operating rule
- Part 91: General Aviation
- Purpose of flight
- Personal
- Phase of flight
- Not recorded
- Route
- Bangor → Unknown
- Aircraft damage
- Substantial
- Weather
- IMC
- Light
- Day
- NTSB number
- ERA23LA216
People
Nobody was injured.
| On board | Died | Serious | Minor | Uninjured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Probable cause
A failure of the left main landing gear down locking mechanism, which resulted in a collapse of that landing gear and a subsequent runway excursion.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.
Read the full NTSB narrative
The pilot/owner was landing the experimental, amateur-built airplane at the conclusion of a night cross-country flight. The pilot described that he flared the airplane slightly high and that it, “skipped and then settled.” The landing roll seemed normal until the left main landing gear collapsed and the airplane departed the runway. The pilot further characterized that the touchdown wasn’t particularly hard, compared to landings he had previously made in other airplanes. The airplane’s horizontal stabilizer and elevator were substantially damaged during the runway excursion. Following the accident, the pilot had the airplane repaired by its original builder, which included replacing a section of threaded rod on the left main landing gear that had broken, which was part of the landing gear down-locking mechanism. Based on this information, it is likely that the failure of the threaded rod resulted in the landing gear collapse and subsequent runway excursion.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.
Other accidents in this area
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19 Aug 2023 | Piper PA28 | Preston, Connecticut, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 28 Jan 2023 | Richard Brinkman LANCAIR 4P | Hartford, Connecticut, United States | - | Serious injuries | - |
| 10 Apr 2023 | Cessna 152 | Danbury, Connecticut, United States | Darcy Aviation LLC | Minor injuries | - |
| 3 Mar 2023 | Bombardier BD-100-1A10 | Windsor Locks, Connecticut, United States | Conexon LLC | Fatal | 1 |
| 24 Jul 2023 | Head Balloons AX8-88 | Guilford, Connecticut, United States | - | Serious injuries | - |
| 17 Jul 2022 | Bellanca 7KCAB | East Haddam, Connecticut, United States | - | Minor injuries | - |