Beech 1900C incident near Los Angeles, California, March 17, 1995
On March 17, 1995 at about 6:50 pm local time, a Beech 1900C, registered N1568W, suffered minor damage in an incident near Los Angeles, California (Los Angeles International airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). No one was hurt; 19 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
AN AXIAL SHIFT OF THE OUTER BEARING ROLLER FOR AN UNDETERMINED REASON, RESULTING IN EROSION AND FAILURE OF THE FLAP TRACK HINGE BRACKET/BEARING ASSEMBLY. FACTORS RELATING TO THE INCIDENT WERE: THE ROLLER BEARING AND ASSOCIATED BRACKET ASSEMBLY WITHIN THE INTERIOR OF THE FLAP STRUCTURE COULD NOT BE ADEQUATELY INSPECTED WITHOUT DISASSEMBLY; AND LACK OF INSPECTION CRITERIA IN THE MANUFACTURER'S MAINTENANCE MANUAL CONCERNING FLAP ROLLER/HINGE BRACKET ASSEMBLIES.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- March 17, 1995 · about 6:50 pm local time
- Place
- Los Angeles, California · Los Angeles International · map
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 19 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Beech 1900C · all 1900Cs on the register
- Registration
- N1568W · registry record · serial UC-64
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
WHILE ON FINAL APPROACH, THE AIRPLANE EXPERIENCED A RAPID, UNCOMMANDED ROLL TO THE LEFT WHEN THE 35-DEGREE FLAP SETTING WAS SELECTED. THE PILOT WAS ABLE TO COUNTER THE ROLL BY APPLYING FULL OPPOSITE AILERON AND LANDED WITHOUT FURTHER INCIDENT. AN EXAMINATION REVEALED THAT THE WING FLAPS HAD BEEN FULLY EXTENDED IN THE AFT DIRECTION, BUT THAT THE INBOARD TRAILING EDGE OF THE LEFT OUTBOARD FLAP HAD BEEN FORCED UPWARD ABOUT 3 INCHES. THE INBOARD AFT FLAP TRACK ROLLER BEARING ASSEMBLY, INCLUDING THE ATTACHING BOLT AND WASHER, HAD PULLED THROUGH THE SKIN OF THE FLAP TRACK HINGE BRACKET. AN ANALYSIS OF THE FAILED PARTS BY BEECH REVEALED THAT THE OUTER ROLLER WAS LOOSE ON THE BEARING AND COULD BE SHIFTED AXIALLY. A CIRCULAR WEAR PATTERN MATCHING THE DIAMETER OF THE OUTER ROLLER FLANGE WAS FOUND ON THE PORTION OF FLAP TRACK HINGE BRACKET WHICH HAD PULLED OUT. BEECH CONCLUDED THAT THE BEARING OUTER ROLLER HAD SHIFTED ON THE ROLLER ELEMENT BEARING AND ALLOWED THE OUTER ROLLER FLANGE TO WEAR AGAINST THE SIDE OF THE FLAP HINGE BRACKET UNTIL THE BEARING ASSEMBLY WAS PULLED OUT. THE FAILED FLAP TRACK HINGE BRACKET AND BEARING ASSEMBLY IS CONTAINED WITHIN THE INTERIOR OF THE FLAP STRUCTURE.
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: airline transport pilot, flight instructor
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 5,000 hours in all; 3,000 in this make and model; 250 in the last 90 days; 80 in the last 30 days
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 11,711 hours
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme, March 15, 1995; 48 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 14,000 lb
- Seats: 19
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: P&W PT6A-65B (turboprop); 0 hours total
- Operator: Alpha Aviation
The flight
- Departed from: MMH Mammoth Lakes CA at 5:48 pm
- Destination: LAX
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 24R, 8,925 ft by 150 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 260° at 10 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 2 | |||
| Passengers | 17 |
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.