Aeronca 15AC N1337H

Summary

On 23 December 2016 at about 21:18 local time, a Aeronca 15AC registered N1337H was involved in an accident near Pontiac, Michigan, 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

23 December 2016 at 21:18

Classification

Accident

Location

Pontiac, Michigan, United States

Nearest airport

Oakland County International A (PTK)

Coordinates

42.6656, -83.4206

Aircraft

Aeronca 15AC

Registration

N1337H

Category

Airplane

Year built

1949

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Pontiac → Pontiac

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN17LA070

Nobody was injured.

The improper installation of the left wheel brake torque plate by maintenance personnel, which resulted in the separation of the torque plate from the axle endplate and a loss of directional control during landing.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The private pilot was concluding a local flight in the tailwheel-equipped airplane. After numerous uneventful touch-and-go landings, the pilot attempted a full-stop landing when the airplane suddenly swerved to the left shortly after touchdown. The pilot attempted to regain directional control by applying right rudder and increasing engine power for an aborted landing; however, the airplane swerved to the right and collided with a snowbank next to the runway. The airplane sustained substantial damage to both main wing spars and the rudder. A postaccident examination revealed that the left wheel brake torque plate had separated from the landing gear axle endplate, which allowed the brake assembly to rotate with the brake disk that was attached to the wheel. The airplane had been modified with Cleveland wheels and brakes through a supplemental type certificate (STC). However, additional examination of the brake torque plates revealed that they had not been installed in accordance with the STC installation instructions. Specifically, the torque plates were not modified with two 0.25-inch holes that were required to ensure proper alignment with the landing gear axle endplate, and improperly sized bushings had been used during the installation. The improper torque plate installation allowed for movement of the torque plate and unintended transverse loading of the anchor bolts, which resulted in the fracture of the anchor bolts that secured the left brake torque plate to the axle endplate. The failure of the left brake likely caused the loss of directional control during landing.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.