Amateur-built SC.7 accident near Cleveland, Ohio, June 25, 1988
On June 25, 1988 at about 3:30 am local time, a amateur-built SC.7, registered N30GA, was substantially damaged in an accident near Cleveland, Ohio (Cleveland Hopkins airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
FATIGUE FAILURE ON THE RADIUS BETWEEN THE BODY OF THE NOSE LANDING GEAR AND THE PORTION CONTAINING THE ARMS.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- June 25, 1988 · about 3:30 am local time
- Place
- Cleveland, Ohio · Cleveland Hopkins · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built SC.7
- Registration
- N30GA · no longer on the register · serial 1839
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
DURING THE LANDING ROLL-OUT, THE NOSE GEAR FORK ASSEMBLY FAILED & THE ACFT WAS DAMAGED. AN EXAM OF THE NOSE GEAR FORK ASSEMBLY REVEALED IT HAD FAILED FROM FATIGUE. THE FRACTURE WAS LOCATED ON THE MAIN BODY OF THE ASSEMBLY, JUST ABOVE THE FORK ARMS.
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; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 2,093 hours in all; 93 in this make and model; 99 in the last 90 days; 68 in the last 30 days; 1,843 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 13,299 hours
- Last inspection: approved inspection programme, June 24, 1988; 2 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 12,500 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Airesearch TPE-331 (turboprop); 0 hours total
- Operator: Air Cargo Carriers
The flight
- Departed from: MDY Chicago IL at 2:05 am
- Flight plan: VFR
- Runway 23L, 8,998 ft by 150 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 160° at 4 knots
- Visibility: 15 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 25,000 ft
- Temperature: 70°F (21°C), dew point 54°F (12°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 3:50 am from CLE
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 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.
Other NTSB records under N30GA 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.