Carr RV-4 N66PB
18 March 2010 · Arlington, Washington, United States · No injuries
Summary
On 18 March 2010 at about 21:55 local time, a Carr RV-4 registered N66PB, operated by Grover P. Best, was involved in an accident near Arlington, Washington, 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.
The record
- Date
- at 21:55
- Classification
- Accident
- Location
- Arlington, Washington, United States
- Nearest airport
- Arlington Municipal Arpt (AWO)
- Coordinates
- 48.1606, -122.1589
- Aircraft
- Carr RV-4
- Registration
- N66PB
- Category
- Airplane
- Engines
- 1
- Operator
- Grover P. Best
- Operating rule
- Part 91: General Aviation
- Purpose of flight
- Personal
- Phase of flight
- Not recorded
- Route
- Burlington → Arlington
- Aircraft damage
- Substantial
- Weather
- VMC
- Light
- Day
- NTSB number
- WPR10LA171
People
Nobody was injured.
| On board | Died | Serious | Minor | Uninjured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Probable cause
The failure of both main landing gear's drag link bolts in overstress and the subsequent collapse of the landing gear during landing rollout.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.
Read the full NTSB narrative
The pilot said that when he took off and retracted the airplane's landing gear, only the tailwheel retracted. He lowered the landing gear and saw three green lights, indicating that all three landing gear were down and safe for landing. He then proceeded to his destination with the main landing gear down. During landing rollout at his destination, the left main landing gear collapsed. The airplane departed the left side of the runway before the right main landing gear collapsed as well. When the left wing's main landing gear collapsed outward, it damaged the wing structure and punctured the left fuel tank. The skin on the top of the right wing and the right aileron were wrinkled. Postaccident examination of the landing gear revealed that both main landing gear drag link bolts failed. These bolts were welded to the back of each main landing gear as part of their landing retraction system. Examination of photographs of the broken bolts by an NTSB metallurgist revealed that each bolt exhibited cantilever beam bending in overstress. The quality of the photographs was inadequate to determine if fatigue played a role.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.
Other accidents in this area
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 28 Aug 2010 | Piper PA-15 | Duvall, Washington, United States | Petersen Rodger E | Minor injuries | - |
| 5 Mar 2010 | Tarantola Leonard RV-6A | Onalaska, Washington, United States | Decker Richard A | No injuries | - |
| 14 Jun 2010 | Waco UKC-S | Seattle, Washington, United States | Kenneth D. Horwitz | No injuries | - |
| 14 Oct 2010 | Mischke BD-5B | Burlington, Washington, United States | David Mischke | Serious injuries | - |
| 21 Jul 2010 | Schweizer G-164B | Prescott, Washington, United States | Blue Mountain Aviation | No injuries | - |
| 16 Oct 2010 | Deitz AVID FLYER MK4 | Colville, Washington, United States | Harrell Hartman | Minor injuries | - |