Bellanca 17-31ATC N4088B

Summary

On 14 November 2004 at about 18:00 local time, a Bellanca 17-31ATC registered N4088B was involved in an accident near Sewanee, Tennessee, 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

14 November 2004 at 18:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Sewanee, Tennessee, United States

Nearest airport

Sewanee - Franklin County (KUOS)

Coordinates

35.2039, -85.8986

Aircraft

Bellanca 17-31ATC

Registration

N4088B

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Nashville → Sewanee

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ATL05LA023

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's improper flare during landing, which resulted in the overload and collapse of the nose landing gear and subsequent on-ground loss of control of the airplane (aircraft control not possible) and collision with a parked airplane.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot stated that the airplane touched down normally on the main wheels during landing, but when the nosewheel touched down, the airplane veered "violently" to the left. The pilot's attempt to gain control of the airplane with brake and rudder inputs was unsuccessful, and it veered off the runway and struck a parked airplane. A single, heavy black skid mark extended from the runway centerline, off the left side of the runway, and continued as a gouge through the grass and past the parked airplane that was struck. The accident airplane's nose landing gear lower drag strut assembly was damaged, and the rod end spring assembly was separated into pieces. The mechanic who disassembled and examined the nose landing gear assembly after the accident stated that the overcenter spring on the drag strut may have broken on landing, allowing the nosewheel to retract 8 to 12 inches and making the nosewheel steering inoperative. Metallurgical examination of the lower drag strut assembly and the two separated pieces of the rod end spring assembly revealed no evidence of corrosion or fatigue; the fracture surface features and deformation were consistent with overload.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.