Reno/Stead Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Reno, Nevada 89510
Sunday, May 20, 2001 12:20 PDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The left main landing gear axle fractured and collapsed during the landing roll, which resulted in a ground loop and substantial damage to the gearbox. The axle fractured in the vicinity of a weld. An entry in the airplane's logbook indicated that the airplane had sustained a hard landing about 15 years prior to this accident. The entry stated that maintenance technicians inspected the axle using the dye penetrate method. No logbook entry noted that the axle had been changed. The manufacturer's representative inspected the axle and reported that several items did not conform to the type design. The manufacturer's representative concluded that the axle had been cracked and rewelded, and the weld did not conform to specifications. The weld at the base plate had a larger radius than specified, which resulted in a flat surface that was insufficient to allow proper seating of the heads of the bolts that mounted the wheel to the axle. The manufacturer's representative felt the axle failed in the weld heat affected zone due to improper repair.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

Failure of the left main landing gear axle due to an improper weld repair.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 5/20/2001
Event Day of the Week Sunday
Time of Event 1220
Event Time Zone Pacific Daylight Time
Event City RENO
Event State NEVADA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 89510
Event Date Year 2001
Event Date Month 5
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude --
Event Location Longitude --
Event Location Airport RENO/STEAD
Event Location Nearest Airport ID 4SD
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport On Airport
Distance from airport in statute miles --
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation 5046
Weather Briefing Completeness Unknown
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1156 Pacific Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 150
Weather Observation Facility ID RNO
Elevation of weather observation facility 4412
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 11
Time Zone of the weather observation PDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height --
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 20000
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Few
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling None
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 24
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 1
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) --
Variable Wind Indicator --
Wind Speed (knots) --
Wind Velocity Indicator Light and Variable
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.19
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury None
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None 1
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 12682
NTSB Notification Source FAA
NTSB Notification Date May 22 2001 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 855
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Feb 25 2003 9:38AM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\MONR
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office WP-RNO-FSDO

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N86727
NTSB Number LAX01LA189
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? No
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Bellanca
Aircraft Model 7GCBC
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 656-74
Certified Max Gross Weight 1650
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class U.S. Registered/U.S. Soil
Aircraft is a homebuilt? No
Flight Crew Seats --
Cabin Crew Seats --
Passenger Seats --
Total number of seats on the aircraft 2
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Mar 9 2001 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 19
Airframe Hours 4176
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name AERO WAYS, INC.
Aircraft Owner Street Address 100 N. ARLINGTON AVE
Aircraft Owner City RENO
Aircraft Owner State NV
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 89501
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name --
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address --
Operator City --
Operator State --
Operator Country --
Operator Zip code --
Operator Code --
Owner has at least one certificate None
Other Operator of large aircraft? --
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation --
Operator Certificate Number --
Indicates whether an air carrier operation was scheduled or not --
Indicates Domestic or International Flight --
Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail --
Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) Personal
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event No
Departure Airport Code SVE
Departure City SUSANVILLE
Departure State CA
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1145
Departure Time Zone PDT
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code 4SD
Destination City RENO
Destination State NV
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Landing - roll
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record Nov 18 2002 2:26PM
User who most recently changed record COOS
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location --
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --