Cessna 175 accident near Hot Springs, South Dakota, September 10, 2021
On September 10, 2021 at about 4:40 pm local time, a 1958 Cessna 175, registered N9343B, was substantially damaged in an accident near Hot Springs, South Dakota (Hot Springs Muni airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 4 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
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The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The tensile overload failure of the main landing gear attachment bolt, which resulted in separation of the left main landing gear and a loss of control during landing.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- September 10, 2021 · about 4:40 pm local time
- Place
- Hot Springs, South Dakota · Hot Springs Muni · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 4 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 175, built 1958 · all 175s on the register
- Registration
- N9343B · registry record · serial 55143
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot reported the airplane touched down “with a gentle skip then easing forward on the yoke pinned my main gear firmly on the turf.” During the landing roll, the airplane began to veer to the right, and the pilot applied rudder inputs to correct. The airplane subsequently spun around and came to rest upright with the left main landing gear leg separated. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the left wing and main landing gear box structure. An attachment bolt for the left main landing gear strut was found fractured and separated from the strut. Metallurgical examination of the fractured bolt and the landing gear strut plate revealed the bolt fractured due to tensile overload that led to shearing of the bolt threads. The bolt was fully threaded into the self-locking nut plate and there was no evidence of looseness before the failure. The damage pattern of the fractured bolt and bent strut plate were consistent with an overload failure of the inboard attachment with no evidence of any preexisting damage or weakness in the attachment. It is likely the main landing gear failure was the result of excessive loading on the attachment during the landing.
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
What happened, in order
- 550094 during descent
- 551092 during descent - normal
The NTSB's findings
- Aircraft › Aircraft systems › Landing gear system › Main landing gear attach sec › Capability exceeded
- Aircraft › Aircraft systems › Landing gear system › Main landing gear attach sec › Failure
- Personnel issues › Task performance › (general) › (general) › Pilot
- Aircraft › Aircraft oper/perf/capability › Performance/control parameters › (general) › Not attained/maintained
Pilot
- Ratings: single-engine land, AME, ASE, IAIR, APLN, none
- Flight time: 5,600 hours in all; 171 in this make and model; 1.2 in the last 90 days; 5,300 as pilot in command
- Last flight review: April 1, 2020
- Medical certificate: class 1
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 3,068 hours
- Last inspection: type not recorded, April 2, 2021
- Maximum gross weight: 2,350 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental O-360-K (piston); 3,088 hours total
- Operating certificate: in the vicinity
The flight
- Departed from: 6V4 Wall SD at 4:10 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 06/2, 3,926 ft by 235 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 250° at 4 knots
- Visibility: 8 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 73°C, dew point 46°C
- Altimeter: 30 inHg
- Observation at 9:53 am from KCDR, 39 miles away
Weather report (METAR): KCDR 101553Z AUTO 25004KT 8SM CLR 23/08 A3000 RMK AO2 SLP140 T02330083
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flig | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 3 |
About this page
Everything above comes from the NTSB's public accident database: the narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words, and the coded tables behind its report (pilot, aircraft, flight, weather, injuries, sequence of events) are written out in plain English. Pilots' ages, home towns and medical details are left out on purpose. The docket at the NTSB holds the report as a PDF and the investigation's photographs and documents. This site never names pilots, passengers or anyone else involved. A preliminary report describes what is known soon after the event and can change; the final report, with the probable cause, usually follows one to two years later and this page is refreshed when it does. Case number CEN21LA416.