Cessna 414 N414HF

Summary

On 18 June 2022 at about 21:30 local time, a Cessna 414 registered N414HF was involved in an accident near Jasper, Georgia, 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 2022 at 21:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Jasper, Georgia, United States

Nearest airport

Pickens County (JZP)

Coordinates

34.4535, -84.4572

Aircraft

Cessna 414

Registration

N414HF

Category

Airplane

Year built

1973

Engines

2

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Canon → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA22LA282

Nobody was injured.

The failure of the owner to comply with a service bulletin, which resulted in the failure of the left main landing gear torque tube due to fatigue cracking.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

After touchdown on the runway, the airplane’s left main landing gear collapsed. The airplane skidded to the left, departed the runway surface, and struck a taxiway sign. The left wing was substantially damaged. Postaccident examination revealed that the left main landing gear torque tube had fractured, which resulted in the gear collapse. Further examination of the torque tube revealed that it failed from fatigue cracks that originated in multiple locations. A service bulletin issued by the airplane’s manufacturer required replacement of the torque tube at 4,000 hours time in service to prevent fatigue failure of the torque tube; however, the airplane had accrued about 5,000 hours total time, and the tube was original to the airplane. While compliance with the service bulletin was not mandatory, replacement of torque tube would have likely prevented the accident.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.