Cessna 195 accident near Memphis, Tennessee, August 8, 2025
On August 8, 2025 at about 8:00 pm local time, a 1954 Cessna 195, registered N1950C, was substantially damaged in an accident during landing (landing roll) near Memphis, Tennessee (Memphis Intl airport). It was a personal 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).
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The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
Failure of the left main landing gear due to the loss of the protective paint coating and a change in the local surface finish from impermissible grinding, which resulted in fatigue cracking.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- August 8, 2025 · about 8:00 pm local time
- Place
- Memphis, Tennessee · Memphis Intl · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 195 B, built 1954 · all 195s on the register
- Registration
- N1950C · registry record · serial 16183
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot reported that during the landing roll at about 15 mph the airplane veered to the right. He applied left rudder and left brake to correct for the veer, but the left main landing gear collapsed. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the lower fuselage and left wing. Examination of the left main landing gear by the NTSB Materials Laboratory revealed that it fractured due to the loss of its protective paint coating and alteration of the local surface finish, likely caused by impermissible surface grinding, which led to intergranular attack and subsequent fatigue cracking.
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
- Landing gear collapse during landing (landing roll) defining event
- Attempted remediation/recovery during landing (landing roll)
- Dragged wing/rotor/float/other during landing (landing roll)
The NTSB's findings
- Aircraft › Aircraft systems › Landing gear system › Main landing gear › Failure
- Aircraft › Aircraft systems › Landing gear system › Main landing gear › Fatigue/wear/corrosion
- Aircraft › Aircraft oper/perf/capability › Performance/control parameters › Directional control › Attain/maintain not possible
- Personnel issues › Task performance › Maintenance › Unauthorized maint/repair › Unknown/Not determined
Pilot
- Certificate: airline transport pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; multi-engine sea; single-engine land; single-engine sea; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 15,873 hours in all; 1,289 in this make and model; 79 in the last 90 days; 16 in the last 30 days
- Last flight review: August 26, 2024
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (with waivers/limitations)
- Seat: left
- Injury: minor injuries
The aircraft
- Last inspection: annual inspection, May 15, 2025
- Maximum gross weight: 3,350 lb
- Seats: 5
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Jacobs R755 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: TUP Tupelo MS
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 18L, 9,000 ft by 150 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 090° at 9 knots
- Visibility: 8 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 11,000 ft; a few clouds at 7,000 ft
- Temperature: 77°F (25°C), dew point 72°F (22°C)
- Altimeter: 30.02 inHg
- Observation at 4:54 pm from MEM, 1 miles away
Weather report (METAR): KMEM 082154Z 09009KT 8SM -RA FEW070 BKN110 25/22 A3002 RMK AO2 TSE53 SLP161 P0005 T02500222 $
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flight crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 1 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
5 documents, released by the NTSB on April 30, 2026. View them here, or download them; the NTSB redacts some personal details before release, and this site shows the NTSB's own titles rather than its file names.
| # | Document | What it is | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pilot/operator Aircraft Accident Report, NTSB Form 6120.1 | PDF, 8 pages | View Download |
| 2 | Investigative Photographs | PDF, 4 pages | View Download |
| 3 | Materials Lab Factual Report | PDF, 14 pages | View Download |
| 4 | Evidence Control Form | PDF, 1 page | View Download |
| 5 | Release of Aircraft Wreckage, NTSB Form 6120.15 | PDF, 2 pages | View Download |
The same docket at the NTSB · documents without a copy here are fetched from the NTSB when you open them.
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 documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, the folder of records gathered during the investigation, shown as the NTSB released them (the NTSB redacts some personal details first) and listed under the NTSB's own titles. This site's own text 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 ERA25LA295.