Cessna 421C accident near Gainesville, Florida, May 6, 1983
On May 6, 1983 at about 6:46 pm local time, a Cessna 421C, registered N3237U, was substantially damaged in an accident near Gainesville, Florida (Gainesville Regional airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). No one was hurt; 6 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The NTSB has not yet published a probable cause for this accident. Investigations usually take one to two years; this page updates when the final report is released.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- May 6, 1983 · about 6:46 pm local time
- Place
- Gainesville, Florida · Gainesville Regional · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 6 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 421C · all 421Cs on the register
- Registration
- N3237U · no longer on the register · serial 421C0112
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
DURING TAKEOFF, THE AIRCREW HEARD AN UNUSUAL 'THUD' SOUND AS THE GEAR WAS RETRACTING, BUT ALL GEAR INDICATIONS WERE NORMAL. PRIOR TO LANDING AT THE DESTINATION, 3 GREEN LIGHTS WERE OBSERVED WHEN THE LANDING GEAR SWITCH WAS MOVED TO EXTEND THE GEAR. A NORMAL TOUCHDOWN WAS MADE, BUT WHEN THE NOSE WAS LOWER, THE ACFT SETTLED ON ITS NOSE. AN INVESTIGATION REVEALED THAT THE ROD END, PN MS21242S4K, WHICH CONNECTS THE NOSE GEAR TO THE NOSE GEAR ACTUATOR, HAD FAILED. A METALLURGICAL EXAM REVEALED SIGNS OF HIGH STRESS FATIGUE CRACKING OVER 1/2 OF THE FRACTURE SURFACE. THE FATIGUE ORIGINATED IN THE CURVE OF A THREAD RUNOUT THAT WAS CORRODED. THE RADIUS OF THE CURVED SURFACE MEASURED 0.056 INCH. THE SPECIFICATION, MS-21242, REQUIRED A MINIMUM RADIUS OF 0.063 INCH. SINCE THE DOWN POSITION SWITCH WAS CONNECTED THE ACTUATOR, IT HAD INDICATED A SAFE INDICATION WHEN THE ACTUATOR HAD OPERATED TO THE EXTENDED POSITION. HOWEVER, WITH THE ROD END FAILURE, THE NOSE GEAR WAS HANGING IN AN LOCKED POSITION.
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, flight engineer
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: helicopter; instrument: airplane; instrument: helicopter; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 24,400 hours in all; 1,220 in this make and model; 55 in the last 90 days; 23,800 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 1,890 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection; 45 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 7,450 lb
- Seats: 8
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Continental GTSIO-520-L (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: PBI West Palm Beach FL at 1:28 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 6, 4,147 ft by 150 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 180° at 6 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 3,000 ft
- Temperature: 82°F (28°C), dew point 45°F (7°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 2:53 pm from GNV
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 2 | |||
| Passengers | 4 |
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.