Accident Details
Probable Cause and Findings
Fatigue failure of the gear axle which resulted in the collapse of the left main gear.
Aircraft Information
Registered Owner (Historical)
Analysis
On Saturday, October 23, 1993, at about 1210 eastern daylight time, a Cessna 170, N3975V, piloted by Mr. Joseph Reimer Jr, nosed over during take off at the Southern Cross Airstrip, Williamstown, New Jersey. The airplane was substantially damaged. The pilot and the two passengers were not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time, and no flight plan had been filed. The flight was being conducted under 14 CFR 91.
The airplane had started the takeoff roll and had traveled about 150 feet when the left axle of the main landing gear fractured, and separated from the airplane. The airplane ground looped and nosed over.
According to the FAA's Malfunction Report:
...main landing gear axle experienced fatigue failure...the failure occurred at the junction which was cracked along the flange of the main landing gear axle, causing the left main landing gear to separate from the aircraft...it is suspected that a crack may have developed through normal operations, went undetected during preflight and annual inspections...
Data Source
Data provided by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). For more information on this event, visit the NTSB Records Search website. NTSB# NYC94LA018