Titan T51 N512JA

Summary

On 8 June 2024 at about 14:08 local time, a Titan T51 registered N512JA was involved in an accident near Madisonville, Tennessee, United States. One person was on board and one had minor injuries. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

8 June 2024 at 14:08

Classification

Accident

Location

Madisonville, Tennessee, United States

Nearest airport

Monroe County (MNV)

Coordinates

35.5452, -84.3804

Aircraft

Titan T51

Registration

N512JA

Category

Airplane

Year built

2012

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Seymour → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA24LA255

1 person had minor injuries.

The failure of the right main landing gear weldment due to fatigue cracking.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

After landing, the pilot felt a violent tailwheel shimmy and the airplane veered left. He applied full right rudder and brakes, but the airplane continued to veer toward the left edge of the runway. The right main landing gear collapsed, followed by the left main landing gear, and the airplane departed the runway onto the grass. Postaccident examination found that both of the lower main landing gear weldments had fractured, in addition to the tailwheel attachment link. Metallurgical analysis determined that the lower right landing gear weldment failed on landing due to fatigue cracking that originated at multiple locations on the weld and propagated over time. The remaining fracture surfaces on the right landing gear, left landing gear, and tailwheel link showed overstress, most likely due to the landing sequence. According to the pilot, the weldment made to the right landing gear was not fabricated by the airplane’s kit supplier. It was fabricated about 12 years before the accident flight by a 3rd party welder whom he hired to repair damage from a previous accident. The pilot said that he did not observe any detectable issues with the weldment before the accident.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.