Cessna 310 N8139M

Summary

On 9 August 1997 at about 19:30 local time, a Cessna 310 registered N8139M was involved in an accident near Mesa, Arizona, 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

9 August 1997 at 19:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Mesa, Arizona, United States

Nearest airport

Falcon Field (FFZ)

Coordinates

33.4410, -111.8503

Aircraft

Cessna 310

Registration

N8139M

Category

Airplane

Engines

2

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Phoenix → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

LAX97LA277

Nobody was injured.

inadequate maintenance inspection of the landing gear system, following a prior incident, due to the mechanic's failure to follow the service manual instructions.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

After a 3 hr training flight, the pilot put the gear selector down & obtained a green light indication. During main gear touchdown, the gear warning horn sounded, & the pilot performed a successful go-around. Subsequent attempts (using both the normal & emergency procedures to obtain a green down light for the landing gear) were unsuccessful. The right main landing gear collapsed during the final landing. Postaccident exam of the aircraft revealed that the right main gear upper side link had fractured, separating it from the lower side link. The associated push-pull tube for the upper side link was bent, and the attaching bolt was sheared. Metallurgical exam of the parts disclosed that all fractures & bends were the result of overload. This aircraft had sustained damage, while parked at another airport ramp. This occurred as a Boeing 727 was departing the ramp. Its jet blast lifted the Cessna off the ground, then it was abruptly deposited back on the ramp. Following the incident, the aircraft was ferried to a repair facility. Records of the repair showed that the gear work was limited to jacking the aircraft & inspecting the nose gear assembly, actuator and bellcrank, and nose structure. A gear retraction and extension check was also performed. The manufacturer stated that following the jet blast incident, the airplane should have undergone an extensive re-rigging of the gear to thoroughly inspect the system.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.