Baby Great Lakes N822CH
29 April 2024 · Castroville, Texas, United States · Serious injuries
Summary
On 29 April 2024 at about 18:20 local time, a Baby Great Lakes registered N822CH was involved in an accident near Castroville, Texas, United States. One person was on board and one was seriously injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.
The record
- Date
- at 18:20
- Classification
- Accident
- Location
- Castroville, Texas, United States
- Nearest airport
- Castroville Muni (CVB)
- Coordinates
- 29.3462, -98.8521
- Aircraft
- Baby Great Lakes
- Registration
- N822CH
- Category
- Airplane
- Engines
- 1
- Operator
- Not recorded
- Operating rule
- Part 91: General Aviation
- Purpose of flight
- Personal
- Phase of flight
- Not recorded
- Aircraft damage
- Substantial
- Weather
- VMC
- Light
- Day
- NTSB number
- CEN24LA169
People
1 person was seriously injured.
| On board | Died | Serious | Minor | Uninjured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Probable cause
The failure of the right main landing gear axle due to multiple fatigue crack initiation points joining into a single larger crack.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.
Read the full NTSB narrative
The pilot reported that he thought he struck a pothole while landing on the grass runway. During the landing sequence, the airplane experienced a postimpact fire, and the airplane was destroyed. The pilot sustained thermal injuries and was hospitalized for an extended time period. Postaccident examination of the airplane revealed the right main landing gear axle had fractured during the landing sequence, and the landing gear leg punctured the fuel tank which likely contributed to the postimpact fire. Metallurgical examination revealed a series of ratchet marks consistent with multiple fatigue crack initiation points joining into a single larger crack on the right main landing gear axle. The fatigue crack extended across about 30% of the cross section of the tube before final failure due to overstress. The locations of the fatigue initiation points were consistent with the cyclic bending forces that would have been applied to this section of the landing gear under normal landing and takeoff conditions.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.
Other Baby Great Lakes accidents
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 23 Jul 1979 | Baby Great LAKES | Santa Paula, California, United States | - | Serious injuries | - |
| 8 Sep 1974 | Baby Great LAKES | Columbia, Illinois, United States | - | Serious injuries | - |
Other accidents in this area
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 31 Dec 2024 | Robinson R44 | Galveston, Texas, United States | Galveston Helicopter Adventures, LLC | No injuries | - |
| 9 Jun 2024 | Stinson VULTEE V-77 | Slaton, Texas, United States | - | Minor injuries | - |
| 21 Oct 2024 | Boeing A75N1 | Denton, Texas, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 11 Feb 2024 | Boeing 737-823 | Dallas, Texas, United States | American Airlines Inc | No injuries | - |
| 12 Apr 2024 | American Champion 7ECA | Longview, Texas, United States | Letourneau University | No injuries | - |
| 5 Sep 2024 | Piper PA-28-140 | Borger, Texas, United States | Grog Holdings LLC | No injuries | - |