Amateur-built DHC-8-102 incident near Savannah, Georgia, July 17, 1991
On July 17, 1991, a amateur-built DHC-8-102, registered N922HA, suffered minor damage in an incident near Savannah, Georgia (Savannah airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under scheduled airline rules (Part 121). No one was hurt; 5 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
THE INADEQUATE INSPECTION PROCEDURES WHICH ALLOWED THE LOSS OF TORQUE ON THE TOP RETRACTION FITTING ATTACHMENT BOLT WHICH SUBSEQUENTLY FAILED IN FATIGUE. FACTORS WERE THE LOSS OF HYDRAULIC FLUID THROUGH A SEVERED LINE, AND THE CORROSION OF A HYDRAULIC QUANTITY LIMITING VALVE.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- July 17, 1991
- Place
- Savannah, Georgia · Savannah · map
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 5 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built DHC-8-102
- Registration
- N922HA · registry record · serial 094
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · scheduled airline rules (Part 121)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
AFTER FLT 4317 TOOK OFF, THE MAIN LNDG GEAR DID NOT RETRACT. THE FLT CREW ACCOMPLISHED THE EMERG CHECKLIST, EXTDD THE LNDG GEAR & MADE AN UNEVENTFUL LNDG. AN EXAM OF THE ACFT DISCLOSED THAT THE RGT LNDG GEAR RETRACTION FITTING HAD FAILED & A HYDRAULIC LINE WAS SEVERED. ALSO, THE QUANTITY LIMITING VALVE(S) WERE CORRODED & THE RESPECTIVE PISTON MOVEMENT WAS RESTRICTED. SUBSEQUENTLY, BOTH HYDRAULIC SYSTEMS WERE DRAIN OF FLUID. AN EXAM OF THE FITTING ATTACHMENT BOLTS REVEALED THE TOP BOLT LOST TORQUE & THE BOLT FAILED IN FATIGUE; THE BOTTOM BOLTS FAILED IN OVERLOAD. ADNLY, THE FITTING SPIGOT FAILED DUE TO HYDROGEN EMBRITTLEMENT; AN IMPROVED FITTING HAS BEEN PRODUCED TO CORRECT HYDROGEN EMBRITTLEMENT PROBLEMS. THE OPER CONDUCTED A FLEET CAMPAIGN & FND 13 LOOSE BOLTS IN OTHER 100 SERIES ACFT. SVRL AIRWORTHINESS DIRECTIVES WERE ISSUED TO CORRECT THE LOSS OF TORQUE ON ATTACHMENT BOLTS, WHICH INCLUDED CHECKING THE TORQUE AT THE 300 HR LNDG GEAR INSPN.
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, flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 8,671 hours in all; 2,359 in this make and model; 5,375 as pilot in command; 450 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 9,081 hours
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme, July 12, 1991; 25 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 34,500 lb
- Seats: 40
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: P&W 120A (turboprop); 0 hours total
- Operator: Henson Airlines
The flight
- Departed from: 49J Hilton Head Isl SC
- Destination: JAX Jacksonville FL
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 27, 9,003 ft by 150 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: dusk
- Wind: from 270° at 6 knots
- Visibility: 8 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 1,100 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 77°F (25°C), dew point 75°F (24°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 10:30 pm from SAV, 1 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 3 | |||
| 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.
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.