Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood Int Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Fort Lauderdale, Florida 33315
Thursday, December 11, 2008 13:11 EST
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
During landing an undetected fatigue crack in the barrel of the left main landing gear upper barrel and trunnion assembly, which penetrated to approximately 70 percent of the wall thickness, resulted in complete fracture of the upper barrel and subsequent separation of left main gear assembly. The airplane departed the left side of the runway and came to rest on the grass. The fatigue origin was on the outer diameter surface, and propagated radially inward with little or no circumferential propagation. The fracture was located in a transition zone of the barrel where the radius did not meet the specification. Additionally, measurements of the inside and outside diameters of the barrel revealed out of tolerance dimensions. The barrel material, heat treatment, and hardness were consistent with the specifications for the part, while the surface finish was less than the specified value. An area of the barrel immediately beneath the fracture surface exhibited smooth areas with corrosion pits. Moderate corrosion was also noted at the upper edge of the side brace collar following paint removal by chemical and mechanical means. The only inspection of the barrel specified by the airplane manufacture is a visual inspection checking for corrosion, pitting, and cleanliness. No other inspection requirements are stipulated for the fracture area of the upper barrel and trunnion assembly. The last visual inspection was performed approximately 58 flight hours before the incident. The Safety Board has investigated 2 previous accidents in which the upper barrel and trunnion assembly fractured. In both previous cases, the barrel fractured above the side brace collar.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The airplane manufacturer's inadequate inspection procedure resulting in undetected fatigue cracking of the main landing gear barrel of the upper barrel and trunnion assembly.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Incident |
| Event Date | 12/11/2008 |
| Event Day of the Week | Thursday |
| Time of Event | 1311 |
| Event Time Zone | Eastern Standard Time |
| Event City | Fort Lauderdale |
| Event State | FLORIDA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 33315 |
| Event Date Year | 2008 |
| Event Date Month | 12 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 260421N |
| Event Location Longitude | 0800910W |
| Event Location Airport | Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood Int |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | FLL |
| 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 | 9 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | -- |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1253 Eastern Standard Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | -- |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | FLL |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 9 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | -- |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | EST |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | 2200 |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | -- |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | -- |
| Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling | Broken |
| Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) | -- |
| Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) | -- |
| Visibility (Statute Miles) | 10 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | 26 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 22 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 190 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 14 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | 20 |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 29.86 |
| 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 | 4 |
| Injury Total Serious | -- |
| Injury Total All | -- |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 27288 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA Southern ROC |
| NTSB Notification Date | -- |
| NTSB Notification Time | -- |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Sep 14 2010 12:01PM |
| User who most recently changed record | johb |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N522FA |
| NTSB Number | ERA09IA115 |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | -- |
| Federal Aviation Reg. Part | Part 91: General Aviation |
| Type of Flight Plan filed | Company VFR |
| Flight plan Was Activated? | -- |
| Damage | Minor |
| Aircraft Fire | None |
| Aircraft Explosion | None |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | CESSNA |
| Aircraft Model | 402C |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 402C0338 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 7210 |
| Aircraft Category | Airplane |
| Aircraft Registration Class | -- |
| Aircraft is a homebuilt? | No |
| Flight Crew Seats | 2 |
| Cabin Crew Seats | -- |
| Passenger Seats | 8 |
| Total number of seats on the aircraft | 10 |
| Number of Engines | 2 |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Retractable |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | AAIP |
| Date of Last Inspection | Dec 2 2008 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 12 |
| Airframe Hours | 10015 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | Unknown |
| Aircraft Owner Name | FRIENDSHIP AIRWAYS LEASING INC |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | 4201 RAVENSWOOD RD |
| Aircraft Owner City | FT LAUDERDALE |
| Aircraft Owner State | FL |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 33312-5346 |
| Operator is an individual? | No |
| Operator Name | Friendship Airways, Inc. |
| Operator Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Street Address | 4201 RAVENSWOOD RD |
| Operator City | FT LAUDERDALE |
| Operator State | FL |
| Operator Country | USA |
| Operator Zip code | 33312-5346 |
| Operator Code | O3PA |
| Owner has at least one certificate | Yes - certificate holder |
| Other Operator of large aircraft? | No |
| Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation | -- |
| Operator Certificate Number | O3PA908H |
| 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) | Instructional |
| Second Pilot on Board | Yes |
| Departure Point Same as Event | No |
| Departure Airport Code | PHK |
| Departure City | Pahokee |
| Departure State | FL |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 1251 |
| Departure Time Zone | EST |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | crash at destination city |
| Destination Airport Code | FLL |
| Destination City | Fort Lauderdale |
| Destination State | FL |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | -- |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Aug 11 2010 12:48PM |
| User who most recently changed record | kenj |
| Since inspection or accident | Time of Accident |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | 27L |
| Runway Length | 5276 |
| Runway Width | 100 |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |