Cessna 185 incident near Homer, Alaska, July 5, 1998
On July 5, 1998 at about 10:00 pm local time, a Cessna 185, registered N3347L, suffered minor damage in an incident near Homer, Alaska (Homer airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). No one was hurt; 3 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The failure of the right main landing gear leg due to corrosion pitting and fatigue.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- July 5, 1998 · about 10:00 pm local time
- Place
- Homer, Alaska · Homer · map
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 3 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 185 · all 185s on the register
- Registration
- N3347L · registry record · serial 1851275
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The certificated commercial pilot was landing on runway 21, a paved runway, in a tailwheel equipped airplane. The pilot stated that after rollout she made a left turn to exit the runway, and the right main landing gear leg separated at the wheel attachment bolt holes. The right wing struck the ground and sustained minor damage. Metallurgical examination of the failed gear leg revealed multiple fatigue cracks originating from various corrosion pits located within the bolt holes. The operator noted that the airplane had been involved in a previous ground loop accident, and that the airplane had been used extensively for off airport landings utilizing wheel/skis. The failed gear leg had been inspected using a dye-penetrant process about 300 flight hours prior to the gear leg failure. Presently, there are no Cessna or FAA specified inspection intervals for this component. Landing gear legs are replaced 'on condition.'
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: commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; single-engine sea; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 5,776 hours in all; 380 in this make and model; 127 in the last 90 days
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 8,354 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, June 30, 1998; 20 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,350 lb
- Seats: 6
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental IO-540-D (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: SOV Seldovia AK at 4:45 pm
- Runway 21, 6,700 ft by 150 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 100° at 12 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 6,000 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 55°F (13°C), dew point 48°F (9°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 2 |
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.
Other NTSB records under N3347L the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
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.