Lewiston-Nez Perce County Airp Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Lewiston, Idaho 83501
Tuesady, September 4, 2012 14:15 MDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

After departure from an uncontrolled airport, ground personnel advised the pilot that they saw the left main wheel and tire fall off the airplane. The pilot decided to continue flight to a nearby controlled airport, where, after flying around to decrease the amount of fuel on the airplane, he landed. The airplane departed the right side of the runway and tipped onto its nose, which substantially damaged the right wing spar. The pilot reported that he observed no anomalies when he examined the main wheel bearings for the correct spindle nut tension 2 days before the accident. However, he believes that the left wheel spindle nut cotter pin was inadvertently omitted or not installed correctly when he reinstalled the wheel on the airplane. He said that a more thorough inspection of the wheel bearing service work should have been performed, and that a more thorough preflight inspection could have caught the problem.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot’s inadequate postmaintenance and preflight inspections, which resulted in the separation of the left main wheel after takeoff. Contributing to the accident was the improperly secured left main wheel spindle nut.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 9/4/2012
Event Day of the Week Tuesday
Time of Event 1415
Event Time Zone Mountain Daylight Time
Event City Lewiston
Event State IDAHO
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 83501
Event Date Year 2012
Event Date Month 9
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 462217N
Event Location Longitude 1170033W
Event Location Airport Lewiston-Nez Perce County Airp
Event Location Nearest Airport ID LWS
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 1442
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1356 Mountain Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) --
Weather Observation Facility ID LWS
Elevation of weather observation facility 1442
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) --
Time Zone of the weather observation MDT
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) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 28
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 2
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 330
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 4
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.09
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report 1:56 PM 82.9 °F 35.1 °F 18% 30.09 in 10.0 mi N
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) 30604
NTSB Notification Source FAA NWM Operations Center
NTSB Notification Date --
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information --
Date of most recent change to record Dec 3 2012 12:34PM
User who most recently changed record reej
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N4798Z
NTSB Number WPR12CA401
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 PIPER
Aircraft Model PA-22-108
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 22-8365
Certified Max Gross Weight 1650
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 Annual
Date of Last Inspection Sep 1 2012 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 20
Airframe Hours 4512
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type Unknown
Aircraft Owner Name REETZ DUANE W
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City CLINTONVILLE
Aircraft Owner State WI
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 54929-9508
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name REETZ DUANE W
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address --
Operator City CLINTONVILLE
Operator State WI
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 54929-9508
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 No
Departure Airport Code GIC
Departure City Grangeville
Departure State ID
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1200
Departure Time Zone MDT
Destination Same as Local Flt --
Destination Airport Code 3U2
Destination City Yellow Pine
Destination State ID
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight --
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Oct 4 2012 3:31PM
User who most recently changed record coos
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location 30
Runway Length 5002
Runway Width 100
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --