Bellanca 8KCAB accident near Lufkin, Texas, May 21, 1999
On May 21, 1999 at about 7:00 pm local time, a Bellanca 8KCAB, registered N5500C, was substantially damaged in an accident near Lufkin, Texas (Angelina County 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 loss of control due to the separation of the left main landing gear as a result of the fatigue failure of the U-bolt which attaches the landing gear to the airframe.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- May 21, 1999 · about 7:00 pm local time
- Place
- Lufkin, Texas · Angelina County Airport
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Bellanca 8KCAB · all 8KCABs on the register
- Registration
- N5500C · registry record · serial 401-78
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The left main landing gear separated from the airframe following a normal wheel landing on runway 15. The separation resulted from failure of the 'U-bolt' attaching the left main landing gear to the fuselage. The left wing contacted the ground and the airplane came to rest on the west side of the 4,550 foot runway. A review of the maintenance history of the airplane revealed that the airframe had accumulated a total time of 708 hours. The failed landing gear U-bolt, part number 1-9805, was shipped to the NTSB Materials Laboratories in Washington, D.C., for metallurgical evaluation. The metallurgical evaluation revealed that the bolt failed as a result of fatigue.
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: flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 7,578 hours in all; 12 in this make and model; 91 in the last 90 days; 32 in the last 30 days; 7,251 as pilot in command; 5,128 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: rgt
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 708 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, May 3, 1998; 106 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,800 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming AEIO-320-E2B (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: OCH Nacogdoches TX at 6:30 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 15, 4,515 ft by 100 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 200° at 5 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 3,700 ft
- Temperature: 86°F (30°C), dew point 68°F (20°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 6:50 pm from LFK, 1 miles away
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.
Other NTSB records under N5500C 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.