NTSB Factual Report

On April 18, 2005, at 1155 eastern daylight time, a Cessna 195A, N1082D, piloted by an airline transport pilot, was substantially damaged when it ground-looped while landing on runway 14 (3,501 feet by 100 feet, asphalt) at the Jackson County Airport (JXN), Jackson, Michigan. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The instructional flight was operating under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 91 without a flight plan. The pilot and his flight instructor were not injured. The local area flight departed JXN around 1045.

The pilot reported that the purpose of the flight was to obtain a flight review, as required by regulation 14 CFR Part 61.56. The pilot's previous flight review was completed on October 18, 2002.

The pilot stated that after completing some maneuvers in the practice area they returned to the airport to perform stop-and-go landings. The pilot reported that a "normal approach and landing" was made and that "control was lost" at approximately 40 knots during the landing rollout. The pilot stated that the airplane "ground looped to the right." The pilot reported that, "Proper control inputs and operation were utilized until control surface [rudder authority] became ineffective." The pilot stated that the tailwheel steering "did not seem to work" and that use of asymmetric braking "had no effect."

The flight instructor reported that the pilot "flew a stabilized approach" and the right main landing gear touched down first, followed by the left main landing gear and tailwheel. The flight instructor stated, "There was no aggressive forcing of the tailwheel onto the ground, and there was no bounce." The flight instructor reported that the airplane "swung violently" to the right after the tailwheel had made contact with the runway. The flight instructor stated, "Aggressive left rudder and even brake were applied by both pilots to no avail."

Wind information was collected from the weather observing station located at JXN. The wind data recorded at 1156 indicated the wind direction was variable at 3 knots with no gusts. The pilot reported that "negligible wind conditions" prevailed at the time of the accident.

The left main landing gear was found separated from the fuselage, resting on the runway. The runway contained a faint tire-track mark 336 feet in length curving toward the right, consistent with being left by the left main landing gear. The airplane traveled an additional 57 feet after the left main landing gear had separated from the fuselage.

The left main landing gear spring was sent to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) Materials Laboratory for examination. The left spring fractured at the inboard end, approximately where the spring passed through the fillet plate and seal. The smooth appearance, the presence of crack arrest marks, and the presence of a ratchet mark were consistent with the features of fatigue cracking from multiple origins. The remainder of the fracture face had a coarser, grainy appearance, clear chevron markings originating adjacent to the fatigue crack, and a shear lip - all features consistent with overstress fracture. The overstress fracture features initially propagated across the top of the spring (inboard), consistent with damage associated with a ground-loop event. Additional metallurgical information can be found in the NTSB Materials Laboratory Factual Report included in the docket information associated with this factual report.

The tailwheel assembly was inspected after the accident and no anomalies were found with the strut, wheel, or steering linkages. The piston-rod for the left brake master cylinder was found fractured in two portions. The rod fractured at the mid-span snap ring grove. The master cylinder cover was deformed downward, adjacent to the center hole where the rod passed through the cover.

NTSB Probable Cause

The fracture of the left brake master cylinder piston rod, which resulted in the total failure of the left-side brake system and the subsequent loss of directional control during landing roll. An additional cause was the encountered ground-loop.