Cessna 140 N3527V

Summary

On 23 February 2008 at about 20:00 local time, a Cessna 140 registered N3527V was involved in an accident near Poplar Grove, Illinois, 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 February 2008 at 20:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Poplar Grove, Illinois, United States

Nearest airport

Poplar Grove Airport (C77)

Coordinates

42.3228, -88.8361

Aircraft

Cessna 140

Registration

N3527V

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Poplar Grove → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CHI08CA087

Nobody was injured.

The left wing skin "fabric patch" separated from the wing ribs and spars for an undetermined reason.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The certified flight instructor (CFI) reported that he was in a steep right turn when he heard a "thump" which seemed to come from the tail section of the airplane. He leveled the wings and realized that he was "holding extreme right rudder with the pedal depressed to about three-fourths of its full travel." The CFI flew back to the airport that was 10 miles away. During the final approach to landing, the CFI flew the tai wheel-equipped airplane to within 6 - 12 inches of the runway and let the airspeed bleed off prior to touchdown. He reported that he ran out of right rudder just as all three wheels touched down. The inspection of the airplane revealed that a large section of the left wing's fabric had separated from the airplane. Nine wing ribs plus the main and rear spars from wing station 58 to wing station 176 were visible as a result of the missing wing fabric. A review of the maintenance records indicated that on October 16, 2000, the left wing was repaired and a "fabric patch" was used to repair the wing's fabric.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.