Beechcraft F17D N18555

Summary

On 3 October 2008 at about 17:15 local time, a Beechcraft F17D registered N18555 was involved in an accident near Moscow, 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

3 October 2008 at 17:15

Classification

Accident

Location

Moscow, Tennessee, United States

Nearest airport

Hawk's Nest Airport (4TN3)

Coordinates

35.1183, -89.3678

Aircraft

Beechcraft F17D

Registration

N18555

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Moscow → Moscow

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA09CA006

Nobody was injured.

The mechanical failure of the landing gear actuation chain.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

According to the pilot/owner of the Beech F17D Staggerwing biplane, on the day of the accident, he took a passenger on a brief local flight, and then they returned for some landings and takeoffs. The winds were calm, and the first landing was uneventful. The pilot took off again, circuited the traffic pattern, and landed a second time. Shortly after touchdown, the airplane began to "sink." The pilot tried to raise the nose to offload the landing gear, and he shut down the engine, while the airplane continued to settle. The propeller struck the ground, and the airplane settled on the right lower wing before it came to a stop. The aft fuselage, propeller, lower cowl and outboard spar of the right lower wing were damaged. Postaccident examination indicated that the chain used to retract and extend the right main landing gear had fractured, which resulted in the partial retraction of the landing gear. According to maintenance records, the chain was installed new in the airplane in 1969, and it had accumulated approximately 910 hours in service. The pilot/owner estimated that the chain had accumulated 1,800 cycles, with each cycle consisting of one retraction and one extension. Visual examination revealed 29 fractures in the outer chain plates, and two completely fractured outer plates, not including the chain failure point. All fractures were oriented radially with respect to the link pivots. Every outer plate was stamped with the notation "ACME 40 SINGAPORE." The National Transportation Safety Board was unable to determine whether this failure mode was limited to this make and model chain. The airplane was manufactured in 1937, and the manufacturer had not established any time or cycle life limits for the chain.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.