Maule M4-220C N535TJ

Summary

On 17 June 2014 at about 16:30 local time, a Maule M4-220C registered N535TJ was involved in an accident near Cherryville, North Carolina, 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

17 June 2014 at 16:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Cherryville, North Carolina, United States

Nearest airport

Private Airstrip (N/A)

Coordinates

35.4528, -81.4589

Aircraft

Maule M4-220C

Registration

N535TJ

Category

Airplane

Year built

1972

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Shelby → Cherryville

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA14LA295

Nobody was injured.

The pilot’s improper landing flare, which resulted in a hard landing and subsequent main landing gear collapse.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot reported that, during the landing on the private grass strip, the main landing gear collapsed. A postaccident examination of the main landing gear assembly revealed that both tubes of the "A" frame assembly on each main landing gear exhibited buckling about mid-length and that both of the main landing gear struts were bent in the positive direction, which is consistent with a hard landing. No corrosion was noted on the mounting hardware, landing gear attachment mounts, or main landing gear structure. No other anomalies were noted with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. It is likely that the pilot improperly flared the airplane, which resulted in a hard landing and main landing gear collapse.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.