Pilot Debrief

SCHWEIZER AIRCRAFT CORP G-164B near Jackson, TN — 2013-06-29

Final reportERA13LA312
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Date
2013-06-29
Location
Jackson, TN, USA
Airport
MKL
Aircraft
SCHWEIZER AIRCRAFT CORP G-164B
Registration
N3633S
Category
Airplane
Highest injury
None
Fatalities
0
Phase of flight
Landing

Probable cause

A failure of the right main landing gear wheel rim during the landing roll, resulting in a loss of control and a subsequent collapse of the right main landing gear.

NTSB narrative

Following an uneventful aerial application flight, the airplane returned to the departure airport. During the landing, the airplane drifted right, and, despite the pilot's application of corrective flight controls, the airplane continued to drift away from the runway centerline. The pilot also noted that the right brake seemed to be unresponsive and that the application of the left brake aggravated the drift to the left. The right landing gear leg subsequently collapsed. Examination of the runway following the accident revealed that the right main landing gear wheel rim had broken apart, with the wheel hub separating from the outer wheel rim. Examination of the fracture surfaces revealed only fractures exhibiting features of overstress, rather than fatigue, although some of the fracture surfaces were smeared from contact forces and could not be evaluated. Review of maintenance and airworthiness records beyond the 13 months preceding the accident was not possible, as the records had been destroyed in a fire; therefore the exact service history of the wheel could not be determined. Review of available records showed that during each of the two annual inspections that were performed before the accident, at least some inspection or maintenance to the wheels was performed, with no discrepancies noted.

Analysis

Primary failure mode
Mechanical failure
First missed decision gate
Maintenance logs did not detail inspection of landing gear before the flight.

NTSB coding

Evidence available

  • Photos
  • 8 docket documents
View NTSB final reportView NTSB docket

Docket documents8

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