Cessna TR182 N756SW

Summary

On 18 June 2018 at about 17:30 local time, a Cessna TR182 registered N756SW was involved in an accident near Beloit, Kansas, 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

18 June 2018 at 17:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Beloit, Kansas, United States

Nearest airport

Moritz Memorial (K61)

Coordinates

39.4711, -98.1289

Aircraft

Cessna TR182

Registration

N756SW

Category

Airplane

Year built

1979

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Beloit → Beloit

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN18LA230

Nobody was injured.

The mechanic’s failure to properly torque one of the left brake caliper’s back plate attachment bolts while re-installing it during the annual inspection, which resulted in the left main landing gear not extending before landing.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The private pilot was practicing takeoffs and landings in the airport traffic pattern when the left main landing gear (MLG) failed to extend. He cycled the gear, but the left MLG still would not extend. He then attempted to manually extend the gear without success. The pilot subsequently executed an emergency landing on the turf runway. During recovery of the airplane, one of the left brake caliper's back plate bolts was found backed out. Scrape marks were present on the fuselage skin, consistent with contact from the extended back plate bolt. The MLG extension/retraction system and the emergency extension system both performed normally during postaccident examination. An annual inspection had been completed 6 days before the accident, and the airplane had accumulated a total of 3.2 hours since then. The mechanic that performed the inspection reported that the brake calipers were removed at that time and that the bolts had not been secured with safety wire after they were re-installed. Given the evidence, it is likely that the mechanic did not properly torque the left brake caliper back plate bolt after he re-installed it during the annual inspection, which allowed it to back out and led to the subsequent failure of the left MLG to extend. Although safety wire would have prevented the bolt from backing out, the airframe manufacturer's service manual was not consistent about whether to use safety wire. Regardless, the bolt would not have backed out if it had been tightened within the specified torque.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.