Cessna 195 N4426C

Summary

On 23 June 2008 at about 13:15 local time, a Cessna 195 registered N4426C was involved in an accident near Houston, Texas, 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

23 June 2008 at 13:15

Classification

Accident

Location

Houston, Texas, United States

Nearest airport

West Houston (IWS)

Coordinates

29.8181, -95.6725

Aircraft

Cessna 195

Registration

N4426C

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Fredericksburg → Houston

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

DEN08LA112

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's failure to maintain directional control, causing the design stress limits of the airplane to be exceeded. Excessive sideloads incurred caused the right main landing gear wheel and strut to fail.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot said he made a "smooth wheel landing" on runway 33. Touchdown speed was 80 mph. After the tail wheel settled to the ground, the pilot applied brakes and the airplane started veering to the left. The pilot attempted corrective action, but the airplane started to ground loop. The pilot said side loads on the right main gear caused the wheel to break off. The gear strut dug into the ground and it, too, broke off. The leading edge of the left wing was crushed from the tip to the root, both elevators were bent, and the firewall was wrinkled. The weather was clear and the winds were calm.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.