ANIAK, AK, USA
N9692P
PIPER PA-18
THE PILOT STATED HE DECIDED TO LAND ON TAYLOR MOUNTAIN, AND THE LANDING WAS HARDER THAN NORMAL. HE DID NOT THINK, HOWEVER, THAT THE LANDING WAS HARD ENOUGH TO COLLAPSE THE LANDING GEAR. THE FAILED LANDING GEAR STRUT TUBE WAS VISUALLY EXAMINED, AND THE FRACTURE SURFACE SHOWED NO STRIATION MARKS. THE INSIDE OF THE TUBE SHOWED NO PITTING AND NO LARGE RUST SPOTS. THE TUBE WALLS WERE UNIFORMLY THICK AROUND THE TUBE NEAR THE FRACTURE SURFACE.
On August 10, 1995, at 1000 Alaska daylight time, a wheel equipped Piper PA-18 airplane, N9692P, registered to and operated by the pilot, landed at Taylor Mountain Airstrip, located near Aniak, Alaska, and collapsed the right main landing gear. The personal flight, operating under 14 CFR Part 91, departed Sleetmute, Alaska, for a local flight. During the flight, the pilot decided to land at Taylor Mountain. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed. The private certificated pilot and the passenger were not injured and the airplane was substantially damaged. During a telephone conversation with the pilot on August 11, 1995, he stated he was flying around the area for fun and decided to land on Taylor Mountain. He stated the landing was harder than normal but he did not feel it was hard enough to collapse the landing gear. He stated that the right main gear collapsed followed by the left main gear. He said that the tubing on the right gear appeared to be rusted from the inside. On the NTSB Form 6120.1/2, received in the Northwest Field Office on August 28, 1995, the pilot stated that the engine was not running smoothly since it was overhauled and during the landing he applied power but the engine did not respond quickly enough to "smooth out" the landing. During the initial telephone interview, the pilot said nothing of an engine problem. The portion of the landing gear shock strut assembly that failed was visually examined and the fracture surface showed no striation marks. One side of the failed tube showed bulging and the other side of the failed tube showed stretching. Inspection of the interior of the failed tube showed a uniformly thick tube wall except in the area of the stretching. There were no rust pits or large rust spots. The other end of the same tube, which did not fail, was bent. One side showed bulging and buckling, and the other side showed stretching. The pilot did not list any biennial flight review information or pilot flight times on the NTSB Form 6120.1/2. According to Federal Aviation Administration Medical Certificate records in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, the pilot showed a total time of 350 hours and 50 hours within the preceding six months of the medical certificate application date of February 1, 1995
THE PILOT'S MISJUDGED LANDING FLARE, WHICH RESULTED IN A HARD LANDING AND OVERLOAD FAILURE OF THE MAIN LANDING GEAR.
Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database
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