American Champion (Acac) 8KCAB N111LS

Summary

On 1 April 1995 at about 22:50 local time, a American Champion (Acac) 8KCAB registered N111LS, operated by DON Hart, was involved in an accident near Long Beach, California, United States. 2 people were on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

1 April 1995 at 22:50

Classification

Accident

Location

Long Beach, California, United States

Nearest airport

Daugherty Field (LGB)

Coordinates

33.8309, -118.1800

Aircraft

American Champion (Acac) 8KCAB

Registration

N111LS

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

DON Hart

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

LAX95LA152

Nobody was injured.

the failure and collapse of the left main landing gear due to a defective and improper weld by the manufacturer.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

THE PILOT REPORTED THAT AFTER TOUCHING DOWN HE FELT THE AIRCRAFT BOUNCE SLIGHTLY. HE RECOVERED FROM THE BOUNCE AND CONTINUED THE LANDING. DURING ROLLOUT, THE PILOT NOTED THAT THE AIRCRAFT BEGAN TO LIST EXCESSIVELY TOWARD ITS LEFT SIDE. IN SPITE OF HIS CONTROL INPUTS, THE AIRCRAFT CONTINUED TO LIST UNTIL THE LEFT WING FINALLY CONTACTED THE RUNWAY. AN INSPECTION OF THE AIRCRAFT REVEALED THAT THE LEFT MAIN LANDING GEAR ATTACHMENT BRACKET HAD SEPARATED IN THE AREA OF THE WELD. A STEREO MICROSCOPE EXAMINATION OF THE FRACTURE SURFACES REVEALED A LACK OF WELD FUSION. THE AIRCRAFT WAS MANUFACTURED IN JANUARY 1995 AND HAD ACCRUED A TOTAL OF 71.9 HOURS FLIGHT TIME WITH NO REPORTED PRIOR DAMAGE.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.