Beechcraft C90A N702DK

Summary

On 20 November 2012 at about 15:30 local time, a Beechcraft C90A registered N702DK, operated by Dominion Aviation Services Inc, was involved in an accident near Roanoke, Virginia, United States. 4 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

20 November 2012 at 15:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Roanoke, Virginia, United States

Nearest airport

Roanoke Regional Airport (ROA)

Coordinates

37.3256, -79.9756

Aircraft

Beechcraft C90A

Registration

N702DK

Category

Airplane

Year built

1990

Engines

2

Operator

Dominion Aviation Services Inc

Operating rule

Part 135: Air Taxi & Commuter

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Richmond → Blacksburg

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA13LA065

Nobody was injured.

The failure of the right main landing gear bearing actuator support brackets. Contributing to the accident was the owner's and operator's failure to comply with the airplane manufacturer's mandatory service bulletin and the Federal Aviation Administration's failure to issue an airworthiness directive.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

During the downwind leg of the traffic pattern at the destination airport, the pilots lowered the landing gear. The pilot then noticed that the right main landing gear (MLG) was not down and locked in position for landing. The flight crew made multiple attempts to get a down-and-locked indication without success, so the pilot decided to abort the landing and divert to another airport with longer runways. After executing the manual gear extension checklist, the flight crew made a low pass at the diversion airport, and the air traffic controller in the control tower advised that the landing gear appeared to be in the down position. During the landing, the touchdown was normal, and the airplane slowed normally; however, as the airplane exited the runway, the right MLG collapsed. Examination of the wreckage revealed that the right wing, right nacelle, and right wheel well had received substantial damage and that the right MLG, after collapsing, had punctured the right nacelle fuel tank. The right MLG bearing actuator support bracket was made of aluminum. Examination of the right MLG revealed that the right MLG bearing actuator support bracket was broken and had separated from its mounting position. Multiple cracks in the bracket were visible, and, at the microscopic level, the cracks had shiny surfaces indicative of abrasion, and overload regions with a cloudy appearance. Essentially, with each cycle, whether it was with extension of the landing gear, retraction of the landing gear, or landing itself, the cracks were subjected to loading which caused them to continue to propagate until the entire assembly reached a point at which structural integrity was no longer present to hold the landing gear actuator. In December 2003, the airplane manufacturer issued a mandatory service bulletin to replace the right and left aluminum MLG bearing actuator support brackets with steel brackets and specified that the replacement of the brackets be accomplished "as soon as possible," but "no later than the next scheduled inspection, the next 200 flight hours or 24 months." The airplane manufacturer also requested that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issue an Airworthiness Directive (AD) based on the service bulletin. However, the FAA did not find an "unsafe condition" and did not issue an AD, which would have made compliance with the service bulleting mandatory. Review of the airplane's maintenance records confirmed that the airplane owner and the operator had not had the new steel brackets installed. Further, the FAA has not issued an AD for the MLG bearing actuator support brackets.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.