Piper PA-22-108 N4798Z

Summary

On 4 September 2012 at about 20:15 local time, a Piper PA-22-108 registered N4798Z, operated by Reetz Duane W, was involved in an accident near Lewiston, Idaho, 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.

Date

4 September 2012 at 20:15

Classification

Accident

Location

Lewiston, Idaho, United States

Nearest airport

Lewiston-Nez Perce County Airp (LWS)

Coordinates

46.3714, -117.0092

Aircraft

Piper PA-22-108

Registration

N4798Z

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Reetz Duane W

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Grangeville → Yellow Pine

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

WPR12CA401

Nobody was injured.

The pilot’s inadequate postmaintenance and preflight inspections, which resulted in the separation of the left main wheel after takeoff. Contributing to the accident was the improperly secured left main wheel spindle nut.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

After departure from an uncontrolled airport, ground personnel advised the pilot that they saw the left main wheel and tire fall off the airplane. The pilot decided to continue flight to a nearby controlled airport, where, after flying around to decrease the amount of fuel on the airplane, he landed. The airplane departed the right side of the runway and tipped onto its nose, which substantially damaged the right wing spar. The pilot reported that he observed no anomalies when he examined the main wheel bearings for the correct spindle nut tension 2 days before the accident. However, he believes that the left wheel spindle nut cotter pin was inadvertently omitted or not installed correctly when he reinstalled the wheel on the airplane. He said that a more thorough inspection of the wheel bearing service work should have been performed, and that a more thorough preflight inspection could have caught the problem.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.