Natrona County Intnl Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Casper, Wyoming 82604
Wednesday, September 8, 2004 14:15 MDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot stated that he was taxiing to the ramp, when the airplane's nose gear struck a storm drain, causing it to collapse and substantially damaging the wheel well. A postaccident examination of the airplane by the FAA revealed that the nose gear bolt, spacer and nut were missing. No other anomalies were noted. According to the pilot, the bolt had been replaced on September 1, 2004. In an FAA interview with the mechanic, it was discovered that the Beech maintenance procedures had not been followed while servicing the nose gear.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

the missing nose gear assembly bolt, spacer and nut resulting in a gear collapse due to improper maintenance procedures. Contributing to the accident was the collision with the storm drain.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 9/8/2004
Event Day of the Week Wednesday
Time of Event 1415
Event Time Zone Mountain Daylight Time
Event City Casper
Event State WYOMING
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 82604
Event Date Year 2004
Event Date Month 9
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 425430N
Event Location Longitude 1062754W
Event Location Airport Natrona County Intnl Airport
Event Location Nearest Airport ID CPR
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport On Airport
Distance from airport in statute miles 1
Degrees magnetic from airport 210
Airport Elevation 5348
Weather Briefing Completeness Not pertinent
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1353 Mountain Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 30
Weather Observation Facility ID CPR
Elevation of weather observation facility 5348
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 1
Time Zone of the weather observation MDT
Lighting Conditions Dawn
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) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 28
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) -3
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 250
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 17
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 24
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.08
Density Altitude (feet) 7881
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) 17140
NTSB Notification Source FAA Comm Ctr
NTSB Notification Date Sep 8 2004 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1504
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Jan 27 2005 3:52PM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\JOHB
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office Casper Flight Standards Field Office

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N1551L
NTSB Number DEN04LA140
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 Beech
Aircraft Model B-60
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number B391
Certified Max Gross Weight --
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 6
Number of Engines 2
Fixed gear or retractable gear Retractable
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Sep 15 2003 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 129
Airframe Hours 2860
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Stecks Inc.
Aircraft Owner Street Address 1832 17th Street
Aircraft Owner City Cody
Aircraft Owner State WY
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 82414
Operator is an individual? Yes
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) Business
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event No
Departure Airport Code RIW
Departure City Riverton
Departure State WY
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1130
Departure Time Zone MDT
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code CPR
Destination City Casper
Destination State WY
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Taxi - from landing
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record Nov 16 2004 3:39PM
User who most recently changed record MCBM
Since inspection or accident Last Inspection
Event Location Runway Number and Location NA
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --