Taylorcraft BC12-D N96884

Summary

On 13 July 1999 at about 17:15 local time, a Taylorcraft BC12-D registered N96884 was involved in an accident near Aitkin, Minnesota, 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

13 July 1999 at 17:15

Classification

Accident

Location

Aitkin, Minnesota, United States

Nearest airport

Aitkin Muni - S Kurtz Fld (AIT)

Coordinates

46.5296, -93.7090

Aircraft

Taylorcraft BC12-D

Registration

N96884

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CHI99LA241

Nobody was injured.

the right spring in the tailwheel assembly's separation. Factors were the fatigue in the landing gear, the maintenance personnel not identifying the fatigue during the annual inspection, and the right main gear's separation.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The wheel separated from the aircraft. The pilot said that in the roll out, the aircraft decelerated to 10-15 mph and the aircraft veered to the left. The pilot applied the brakes and the aircraft moved to the left of the runway. The aircraft began to skip and tipped to the right. The airplane came to rest off the left side of the runway. The right wing dragged on the runway. The landing gear gouged the asphalt. The prop struck the dirt alongside the runway. The wheel was found lying on the runway. The right spring on the tail wheel was found detached. The accident airplane's annual inspection was completed on May 25, 1999 and accumulated nine hours of flight time since the annual. The axle was sent to the National Transportation Safety Board's Materials Laboratory for examination. An excerpt from the laboratory's report states, 'The circumferential portion of the fracture surface was located on the inboard side of the circular plate at the top of the axle and had a dark brown and rubbed appearance, indicative of a crack that has been in existence for an extended time. This portion of the fracture was directly adjacent to the circular plate, through either the weld of heat affected zone adjacent to the weld between the upper struts and the circular plate. The circumferential portion of the fracture contained what appeared to be a wide but shallow crack arrest position, suggestive of crack initiation from a wide area approximately in the center of this portion of the fracture.' The pilot's safety recommendation states, 'The crack in the axle was tucked within the brake cylinder. The only way to inspect it would be removal of the wheel & brake assembly.'

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.