Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Bradley Sky Ranch Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
North Pole, Alaska 99705
Thursday, October 16, 2003 17:45 AKD
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The commercial certificated pilot was landing a tailwheel-equipped airplane on a gravel surface runway. During the landing roll, with about 35 knots of airspeed, the airplane began to drift to the right. The pilot said he applied left brake pressure, but the pedal went to the floor without producing any braking action from the left brake. The airplane departed off the right side of the runway and ground looped to the right. The left main gear strut fractured, just outboard from the fuselage, and the left wing struck the ground. The airplane received damage to the fuselage and the left wing. An FAA inspector examined the airplane at the accident site, and reported that the actuator rod, connecting the left brake pedal to the left brake master cylinder, was fractured. The point of separation had flat fracture planes oriented 90 degrees to the long axis of the rod. The FAA inspector also examined and photographed the separated left main landing gear strut. The point of separation was oriented perpendicular to the span of the gear strut. Visual examination of the fracture surface of the gear strut revealed flat fracture planes with multiple beach marks radiating in successive arc patterns from the outer edges of the strut. The landing gear on the accident airplane is a spring steel strut that is bolted to the fuselage at its upper end. Neither the manufacturer nor the FAA, have established a life limit (hours or cycles) for the main landing gear strut. No inspection procedures, other than a general visual inspection of the landing gear, have been specified by the manufacturer or the FAA.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
A fracture of the left brake master cylinder actuator rod, which resulted in failure of the left brake, a loss of directional control and an inadvertent ground loop during landing, and the separation of the left main landing gear strut due to fatigue. Factors contributing to the accident were the manufacturer's and the FAA's insufficient standards/requirements for inspection procedures of spring steel landing gear struts.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 10/16/2003 |
| Event Day of the Week | Thursday |
| Time of Event | 1745 |
| Event Time Zone | -- |
| Event City | North Pole |
| Event State | ALASKA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 99705 |
| Event Date Year | 2003 |
| Event Date Month | 10 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | -- |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | -- |
| Event Location Latitude | 644533N |
| Event Location Longitude | 1472316W |
| Event Location Airport | Bradley Sky Ranch |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | 95Z |
| 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 | 483 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | Unknown |
| Investigator's weather source | Pilot |
| Time of the weather observation | |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | -- |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | -- |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | -- |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | -- |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | -- |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | -- |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | -- |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | Clear |
| Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling | None |
| Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) | -- |
| Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) | -- |
| Visibility (Statute Miles) | 30 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | 4 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | -- |
| 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) | -- |
| 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 | 2 |
| Injury Total Serious | -- |
| Injury Total All | -- |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 15413 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA REGIONAL OPERATIONS CENTER |
| NTSB Notification Date | Oct 16 2003 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | 1805 |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | DMS |
| Date of most recent change to record | Jun 3 2004 1:28PM |
| User who most recently changed record | NTSB\MONR |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | FAA-AL-FAI FSDO 01 |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N3050B |
| NTSB Number | ANC04LA004 |
| 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 | Cessna |
| Aircraft Model | 195B |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 7933 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 3350 |
| 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 | 5 |
| Number of Engines | 1 |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Fixed |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | Annual |
| Date of Last Inspection | Feb 12 2003 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 65 |
| Airframe Hours | 4495 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | James C. Monberg |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | -- |
| Aircraft Owner City | Seattle |
| Aircraft Owner State | WA |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 98107 |
| 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 | Yes |
| Departure Airport Code | -- |
| Departure City | NORTH POLE |
| Departure State | AK |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 1700 |
| Departure Time Zone | ADT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | crash at destination city |
| Destination Airport Code | 95Z |
| Destination City | NORTH POLE |
| Destination State | AK |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | Landing - roll |
| Report sent to ICAO? | No |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Mar 26 2004 1:46PM |
| User who most recently changed record | PETL |
| Since inspection or accident | Last Inspection |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | 33 |
| Runway Length | 3400 |
| Runway Width | 80 |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |