N142PA

MINR
None

Grumman G-73S/N: J42

Accident Details

Date
Tuesday, May 22, 2001
NTSB Number
MIA01IA144
Location
Fort Lauderdale, FL
Event ID
20010529X01018
Coordinates
26.090335, -80.149368
Aircraft Damage
MINR
Highest Injury
None
Fatalities
0
Serious Injuries
0
Minor Injuries
0
Uninjured
19
Total Aboard
19

Probable Cause and Findings

The improper review of component records by company maintenance personnel of returned landing gear components from a laboratory for magnaflux and x-ray. This resulted in unserviceable components being tagged as serviceable, installation of unserviceable parts on an operational airplane, and subsequent failure/collapse of the right main landing gear during taxi.

Aircraft Information

Registration
N142PA
Make
GRUMMAN
Serial Number
J42
Engine Type
Reciprocating
Model / ICAO
G-73G73
Aircraft Type
Fixed Wing Multi Engine
No. of Engines
2

Registered Owner (Historical)

Name
SEAPLANE ADVENTURES LLC
Address
75 HOLLY HILL LN
Status
Deregistered
City
GREENWICH
State / Zip Code
CT 06830-6098
Country
United States

Analysis

On May 22, 2001, at about 1746 eastern daylight time, a Grumman G-73, N142PA, registered to Seaplane Leasing II LLC, operated by Flying Boat Inc, doing business as Chalks International Airlines flight 512, as a 14 CFR Part 121 scheduled international passenger flight, experienced a collapse of the right main landing gear while taxiing to the parking ramp. The airline transport pilot-in-command, commercial pilot copilot, and 17 passengers reported no injuries. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and a VFR flight plan was filed. The airplane sustained minor damage. The flight originated from Paradise Island, Bahamas, about 51 minutes before the incident.

Initial examination of the airplane by the FAA revealed the right main landing gear had separated. Two small preexisting cracks and corrosion was found in the vicinity of the failure location.

The Director of Maintenance for Chalks International stated that four landing gear parts were sent to Q.C. Labs for magnaflux and x-ray. The landing gear parts were picked up and brought back to the hangar. The landing gears were prepped, primed, painted, and the landing gear was installed on the incident airplane. On May 22, 2001, N142PA right main landing gear failed while taxiing to the terminal. A review of paperwork from Q.C. Labs revealed that two landing gear parts were rejected because of cracks. A red tag was also attached to the report. " At this time I realized that I had tagged an unserviceable part serviceable by mistake."

Data Source

Data provided by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). For more information on this event, visit the NTSB Records Search website. NTSB# MIA01IA144