Cessna 206 incident near Homer, Alaska, March 1, 2003
On March 1, 2003 at about 1:10 am local time, a Cessna 206, registered N8337Q, suffered minor damage in an incident near Homer, Alaska (Bradley Lakes Airstrip airport). It was flown under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The separation of the main landing gear spring strut during landing touchdown due to corrosion and fatigue. Factors contributing to the accident were the manufacturer's and the FAA's insufficient standards/requirements for inspection procedures.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- March 1, 2003 · about 1:10 am local time
- Place
- Homer, Alaska · Bradley Lakes Airstrip · map
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 206 · all 206s on the register
- Registration
- N8337Q · no longer on the register · serial U20603198
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Flight
- Flight · charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The airline transport certificated pilot was landing a nose wheel-equipped airplane at a remote gravel surfaced airstrip during a VFR air taxi flight. The airplane landed hard, and the right main landing gear, a spring steel strut, fractured and separated from the fuselage just outboard of the landing gear fuselage support clamp. The airplane settled onto the belly-mounted cargo pod and sustained minor damage. The airplane had accrued about 17,120 total flight hours. The right main gear was replaced in 1994, at an aircraft total time of 11,848 hours, with a "serviceable unit." Visual examination of the fracture surface revealed beach marks radiating in successive arc patterns from mulitple locations, along the underside of the gear strut. A metallurgical examination revealed that the landing gear spring had two different layers of paint. Multiple fatigue crack initiation sites, coinciding with corrosion pits, were found along the lower surface of the gear. Particles in the pits contained titanium, a component of paint, indicating the corrosion pits were present at the time the gear was painted. Periodic visual inspection of the landing gear is required by 14 CFR Part 43. Neither the manufacturer nor the FAA have established time in service limits (hours or cycles) for the main landing gear strut. Removal of the gear strut for inspection, or the use of nondestructive inspection techniques is not required by the manufacturer or the FAA. On March 16, 2001, the NTSB recommended that the FAA issue an airworthiness directive (AD) to require an initial and recurring inspection of Cessna main landing gear spring steel struts, using nondestructive inspection techniques. On August 31, 2001, the FAA reported to the NTSB that the current inspection criteria outlined in the Cessna Maintenance Manual are adequate to detect cracks in the main landing gear struts, and that additional airworthiness action is not warranted. On March 25, 2002, the NTSB responded by stating, in part: "The Safety Board continues to believe that a visual inspection alone will not detect cracks in the Cessna main landing gear spring struts. However, the Safety Board acknowledges that the statistical evidence does not warrant issuance of ADs at this time as called for in the Board's recommendation." The safety recommendation was then classified as: "Closed-Reconsidered."
The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
Pilot
- Certificate: airline transport pilot, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 2,328 hours in all; 580 in this make and model; 205 in the last 90 days; 58 in the last 30 days; 2,198 as pilot in command
- Last flight review: July 1, 2002
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 7,050 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, February 7, 2003; 71 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,600 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental IO-520-F (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: PAHO Homer AK at 9:00 pm
- Destination: Bradley Lake AK
- Runway 06, 2,000 ft by 75 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 060° at 15 knots, gusting 25
- Visibility: 30 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 41°F (5°C), dew point 32°F (0°C)
- Altimeter: 29.92 inHg
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 1 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), has not been read from the NTSB for this case yet; the list appears here once it has. Open the docket at the NTSB.
Everything on this page comes from the NTSB's public records. The narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words; the coded tables behind the report are written out in plain English, with pilots' ages, home towns and medical details left out. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, shown as the NTSB released them. This site's own text never names anyone involved. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.