Cessna 421 N5929M

Summary

On 20 March 2014 at about 16:05 local time, a Cessna 421 registered N5929M was involved in an accident near Charleston, South Carolina, United States. 3 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 March 2014 at 16:05

Classification

Accident

Location

Charleston, South Carolina, United States

Nearest airport

Charleston Afb/Intl (CHS)

Coordinates

32.8986, -80.0403

Aircraft

Cessna 421

Registration

N5929M

Category

Airplane

Year built

1972

Engines

2

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Columbia → Charleston

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA14LA170

Nobody was injured.

Inadequate maintenance, which resulted in the collapse of the right main landing gear during landing.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The commercial pilot was concluding a personal flight with two passengers on board. The pilot reported that, during the landing roll and after a normal touchdown on the concrete runway, the right main landing gear (MLG) collapsed. The airplane then veered right and struck two runway lights, which resulted in substantial damage to the right wing rear spar. Examination of the airplane revealed that the right MLG down-lock bellcrank was fractured and had separated from its respective trunnion. The bellcrank bolt was sheared at the bolt head, consistent with overload. The upper end of the bellcrank remained attached to the outboard push-pull tube. The lower end of the bellcrank, which attached to the rod end fitting at the lower side link, was broken, consistent with a ductile tension failure. The fracture location was consistent with additional stress that would have been placed on the bellcrank if the landing gear was not properly rigged; however, damage to the landing gear precluded the ability to functionally check or verify whether the gear was properly rigged. Review of maintenance records revealed that the airplane had been operated for about 4 hours since its most recent annual inspection, which was performed about 2 months before the accident. At that time, maintenance, including the adjustment of the right MLG travel, was performed on the airplane.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.