Cessna 140 N2739N

Summary

On 15 December 1999 at about 22:30 local time, a Cessna 140 registered N2739N was involved in an accident near Helena, Montana, United States. One person was 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

15 December 1999 at 22:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Helena, Montana, United States

Nearest airport

Silver City (MT18)

Coordinates

46.5293, -112.2100

Aircraft

Cessna 140

Registration

N2739N

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Helena → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

SEA00LA032

Nobody was injured.

Separation of the left main landing gear. Factors include inadequate preflight inspection by the pilot, and inadequate inspection at the time of annual inspection by maintenance personnel.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot stated that on his second touch-and-go landing at the airstrip, about half way down the runway, the left wheel separated and the airplane nosed over. FAA inspectors observed that the left wheel and gear extension had separated from the left main landing gear leg and were found off the runway on the left side. Surface tracks indicated that the airplane had been tracking along the centerline of the runway, and that the airplane had continued to track down the centerline for an additional 30 yards before it nosed over. The four left main landing gear extension attachment bolts were inspected by the NTSB's material laboratory. Examination revealed that all four bolts were bent through the shank portion; however, none of the bolts were separated. Additionally, the threads in each bolt were scraped on the convex side of the bend, as if from sliding out of the bolt hole. Three of the four bolts exhibited what appeared to be stripped threads of their corresponding nuts in their thread grooves. No evidence was found of the presence of a nut on the fourth bolt. Records revealed that the airplane had received an annual inspection on November 11, 1999, and it had accumulated seven hours of operation since that inspection.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.