Dillingham Airfield Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Mokuleia, Hawaii 96791
Thursday, February 14, 2008 12:45 HST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot observed that the windsocks located at each end of runway indicated tailwinds of about 10 knots in either direction. The midfield sock indicated a direct crosswind from the north. The pilot elected to approach the east runway, and touched down abeam the midfield windsock. Upon touchdown the airplane encountered a left-to-right crosswind, and as the airplane decelerated, the pilot noticed the wind shift to a quartering right tailwind. He elected to abort the landing. As he advanced the throttle the engine sputtered, the left main gear collapsed, and the airplane ground looped as it approached the runway's edge. Examination of the left main landing gear spring strut revealed that the strut separated where the wheel bolts to the strut. The fracture face of the strut was granular in texture and uniform matte gray in color. The fracture surface for the section of landing gear strut that remained attached to the wheel was closely examined, and it was noted that the fracture surface had an approximate 1/16 inch flat dark triangular section at the corner of the mounting bolt hole. The Safety Board Materials Laboratory examination confirmed the presence of a 0.072 inch fatigue crack at this location that would be sufficient to cause a failure of the strut.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The failure of the left main landing gear strut due to fatigue. Contributing to the failure was the side load placed on the landing gear while making a crosswind landing.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 2/14/2008
Event Day of the Week Thursday
Time of Event 1245
Event Time Zone Hawaii Standard Time
Event City Mokuleia
Event State HAWAII
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 96791
Event Date Year 2008
Event Date Month 2
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 213446N
Event Location Longitude 1581150W
Event Location Airport Dillingham Airfield
Event Location Nearest Airport ID PHDH
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 --
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1155 Hawaii Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 210
Weather Observation Facility ID PHHI
Elevation of weather observation facility 837
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 12
Time Zone of the weather observation HST
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 3000
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height --
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Clear
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling Overcast
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 23
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 18
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 190
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 5
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.05
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) 24009
NTSB Notification Source FAA
NTSB Notification Date Feb 14 2008 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Aug 28 2008 3:01PM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\johb
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office Honolulu, HI

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N473GF
NTSB Number LAX08LA060
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 305-A
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 2018
Certified Max Gross Weight 2100
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class --
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 100 Hour
Date of Last Inspection --
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours 10000
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Honolulu Soaring Club
Aircraft Owner Street Address PO Box 626
Aircraft Owner City Waialua
Aircraft Owner State HI
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 96791
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name Honolulu Soaring Club
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address --
Operator City Honolulu
Operator State HI
Operator Country USA
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) Glider Tow
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event Yes
Departure Airport Code PHDH
Departure City Mokuleia
Departure State HI
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1230
Departure Time Zone HST
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code --
Destination City --
Destination State --
Destination Country --
Specific Phase of Flight Landing
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Jul 24 2008 12:08PM
User who most recently changed record COOS
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location 8
Runway Length 9000
Runway Width 150
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --