Maule MXT-7-180A N10550

Summary

On 23 July 2002 at about 21:00 local time, a Maule MXT-7-180A registered N10550, operated by Roderick Henderson, was involved in an accident near Trenton, Georgia, 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

23 July 2002 at 21:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Trenton, Georgia, United States

Nearest airport

Lookout Mountain Flight Park (OGE3)

Coordinates

34.9047, -85.4597

Aircraft

Maule MXT-7-180A

Registration

N10550

Category

Airplane

Operator

Roderick Henderson

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Marietta → Trenton

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

MIA02LA138

Nobody was injured.

The failure of the pilot to clear the engine during a prolonged approach at idle power resulting in the engine hesitating during application of power to arrest the descent for landing touchdown resulting in a hard landing and separation of the left main landing gear wheel. Contributing to the accident was incomplete fusion of the weld joint between the left main landing gear axle and wheel spacer and the lower than normal idle setting of the engine.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

According to the pilot, he had to clear a ridgeline on his approach path to a 2,000 foot grass strip, necessitating a short field approach that was steep, using idle power. When he rapidly applied power in the flare, the engine hesitated, and the touchdown was firm. The left main wheel fractured at the weld joint between the axle and the hub spacer , causing the wheel to separate, the left landing strut to dig into the sod, and the aircraft to ground loop. The ground loop resulted in a collapsed nose gear strut and a propeller strike. Postcrash examination of the engine revealed metal shavings contamination in the gascolator. Postcrash run of the engine revealed an idle rpm of less than 500 rpm. The normal idle rpm range should be 600 to 800 rpm. The left main wheel/axle was sent to the NTSB Materials Laboratory for analysis of the fracture. The examination showed the axle to spacer weld had only achieved about 30 percent fusion of the surface at the end of the axle. The remaining fracture surface was consistent with overstress separation.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.