| Crash location | 33.482778°N, 90.985555°W |
| Nearest city | Greenville, MS
33.410116°N, 91.061774°W 6.7 miles away |
| Tail number | N6753L |
|---|---|
| Accident date | 14 Mar 2002 |
| Aircraft type | Beech C24R |
| Additional details: | None |
On March 14, 2002, at 1658 central standard time, a Beech C24R, N6753L, registered to and operated by the private pilot, landed gear-up during an emergency landing following a separation of the nose gear assembly at Mid Delta Regional Airport in Greenville, Mississippi. The personal flight was operated under the provisions of Title 14 CFR Part 91 with a VFR flight plan filed. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed. The pilot was not injured, and the airplane sustained minor damage. The flight departed Mid Delta Regional Airport in Greenville, Mississippi, about 1220.
The airplane's nose wheel and nose gear housing fell onto the runway during takeoff and were retrieved by persons on the ground. The pilot maneuvered in the area for hours to burn off fuel, then returned to the airport and executed an emergency gear-up landing on a foamed runway.
Examination of the airplane revealed minor damage to the lower fuselage skin. The nose wheel and nose gear housing were separated, and the nose gear yoke assembly was fractured. The left and right tow-limit stop bolts for the nose gear was bent, and the rod end attached to the nose gear collar was bent. There was no record of previous damage or a known overstress event involving the nose gear assembly.
Metallurgical examination of the nose gear assembly was performed by the National Transportation Safety Board, Office of Research and Engineering, Materials Laboratory Division, Washington, D.C. Examination of the outboard flange of the nose gear housing revealed the flange was completely fractured approximately 300 degrees in the area where the nose gear yoke assembly connects to the housing. Examination of the fracture surface revealed the crack initiated from one of three equally spaced bolt holes in the outboard flange. The fracture propagated in both directions circumferentially from one hole and terminated at the outboard surface of the flange. A longitudinal fracture propagated from another of the three bolt holes and terminated at the circumferential fracture.
Scanning electron microscope examination of the circumferential fracture and the longitudinal fracture revealed no evidence of fatigue. Laboratory-induced overstress of the component produced a fracture surface similar in morphology to the circumferential and longitudinal fractures.
An overload failure of the nose gear assembly for undetermined reasons.