Payson Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Payson, Arizona 85541
Saturday, October 3, 2009 9:00 MST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot reported that, as the airplane touched down, the nose gear separated and the airplane veered to the left before coming to rest on the runway. During the event the right wing was substantially damaged. Postaccident examination of the separated nose landing gear fork indicated that the alloy used for forging the part was 2014 series aluminum, which is susceptible to stress corrosion cracking (SCC) given the proper environment and a continuous stress state. A Safety Board metallurgist concluded that the fracture characteristics were consistent with SCC, with slow crack growth over time. The crack appeared to have originated from a point on the surface of the bolt hole bore and propagated upwards and outwards. The last annual inspection of the airplane was conducted about two weeks prior to the accident, although the investigation was unable to determine if the crack would have been visible to the unaided eye during a routine inspection.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The stress corrosion cracking of the nose gear landing fork, which resulted in the fork's failure during landing.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 10/3/2009
Event Day of the Week Saturday
Time of Event 900
Event Time Zone Mountain Standard Time
Event City Payson
Event State ARIZONA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 85541
Event Date Year 2009
Event Date Month 10
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 341524N
Event Location Longitude 1112021W
Event Location Airport Payson Airport
Event Location Nearest Airport ID PAN
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport On Airport
Distance from airport in statute miles 0
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation 5157
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 850 Mountain Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 320
Weather Observation Facility ID SEZ
Elevation of weather observation facility 4830
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 42
Time Zone of the weather observation MST
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height --
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 7500
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Scattered
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) 19
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) -2
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 130
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 6
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 15
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29.95
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) 27313
NTSB Notification Source FAA
NTSB Notification Date --
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information --
Date of most recent change to record Aug 16 2010 9:09PM
User who most recently changed record stam
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N7810T
NTSB Number WPR10LA004
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed Unknown
Flight plan Was Activated? --
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name CESSNA
Aircraft Model 172A
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 47410
Certified Max Gross Weight 2200
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 4
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Sep 23 2009 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 1
Airframe Hours 4369
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated Yes
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type C91
Aircraft Owner Name Terry Reynolds
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City Phoenix
Aircraft Owner State AZ
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 85020
Operator is an individual? Yes
Operator Name Terry Reynolds
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address --
Operator City Phoenix
Operator State AZ
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 85020
Operator Code --
Owner has at least one certificate None
Other Operator of large aircraft? No
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 PAN
Departure City Payson
Departure State AZ
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 800
Departure Time Zone MST
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code PAN
Destination City Payson
Destination State AZ
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight --
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Aug 16 2010 9:10PM
User who most recently changed record stam
Since inspection or accident Last Inspection
Event Location Runway Number and Location 24
Runway Length 5500
Runway Width 75
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --