Cessna 172RG accident near Lawrenceville, Illinois, February 15, 1999
On February 15, 1999 at about 9:15 pm local time, a Cessna 172RG, registered N9506D, was substantially damaged in an accident near Lawrenceville, Illinois (Lawrenceville Airport). It was an instructional flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 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 fatigue fracture of the landing gear actuator.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- February 15, 1999 · about 9:15 pm local time
- Place
- Lawrenceville, Illinois · Lawrenceville Airport · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 172RG · all 172RGs on the register
- Registration
- N9506D · no longer on the register · serial 172RG1191
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
During climb-out both pilots heard a pop from the right side of the aircraft under the right seat. The CFI performed a landing gear extension. The left landing gear would extend and lock, but the right main gear would extend partially and then retract simultaneously as the left main landing gear would lower and lock. The manual landing gear extension procedures were tried, but the right main landing gear failed to extend. An emergency landing was attempted. The airplane veered off the right side of the runway during the landing rollout. The right wing and right horizontal stabilizer were damaged when they impacted the ground. The examination of the right main landing gear actuator assembly revealed the actuator body was cracked in two locations near the cups for the bearings. One of the cracks had fatigue striations that originated at the corner formed by the intersection of the 2.25 inch inner-diameter surface of the gear housing and the 1.0 inch inner-diameter surface of the linear actuator portion of the actuator housing. The examination of the corner revealed the presence of circumferential scouring marks consistent with grinding or filing marks. The maintenance logbooks indicated that the landing gear actuator was originally equipped on the airplane and had a total of approximately 7,000 flight hours and 21,000 cycles. There is no life or component time limit listed for the component by the airplane manufacturer.
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; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 1,396 hours in all; 76 in this make and model; 171 in the last 90 days; 67 in the last 30 days; 1,264 as pilot in command; 635 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: rgt
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 7,024 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, January 20, 1999; 32 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,550 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Lycoming O-360-F1A6 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: LWV at 7:00 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 18, 5,200 ft by 100 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 180° at 15 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 55°F (13°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 7:53 pm from LWV
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 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.