Cessna 185E accident near Mesa, Arizona, September 20, 1998
On September 20, 1998, a Cessna 185E, registered N1613M, was substantially damaged in an accident near Mesa, Arizona (Falcon Field). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
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The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The failure of the wheel assembly retention nuts and subsequent wheel separation.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- September 20, 1998
- Place
- Mesa, Arizona · Falcon Field · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 185E · all 185Es on the register
- Registration
- N1613M · registry record · serial 18501833
- 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 when he applied the brakes during the landing rollout, the left wheel separated from the main landing gear. The aircraft then veered off to the left side of the runway. The aircraft was equipped with a snow-ski adapter kit, which had been installed on November 20, 1972. The four-wheel assembly retention bolts had sheared off upon the landing touch down, with the upper two bolts failing first. The nuts were then stripped off from the lower two bolts. The left landing gear wheel assembly separated from the landing gear strut. Research revealed that there is no inspection criteria to inspect the wheel assembly retention bolts.
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, private
- Ratings: single-engine land; single-engine sea; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 1,868 hours in all; 806 in this make and model; 31 in the last 90 days; 26 in the last 30 days; 1,726 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 1,892 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, June 6, 1998; 47 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,350 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental IO-520-D (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: RKS Rock Springs WY at 8:00 pm
- Destination: FFZ
- Flight plan: VFR
- Runway 22L, 5,100 ft by 100 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 290° at 5 knots
- Visibility: 40 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 2,000 ft
- Temperature: 95°F (35°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 |
Other NTSB records under N1613M the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
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 docket at the NTSB holds the report as a PDF and the investigation's photographs and documents. This site 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 LAX98LA299.