Cessna 182F accident near Albany, Missouri, August 31, 1986
On August 31, 1986, a Cessna 182F, registered N3239U, was substantially damaged in an accident near Albany, Missouri (Albany Municipal airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 4 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 November 2, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- August 31, 1986 · cases in 1986
- Place
- Albany, Missouri · Albany Municipal · cases near this airport · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 4 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 182F · all 182Fs on the register
- Registration
- N3239U · registry record · serial 18254639
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE PLT-IN-COMMAND (PIC) RPRTD THAT A NORMAL APCH & FLARE WERE MADE, BUT AS THE ACFT TOUCHED DOWN, THE LEFT MAIN GEAR COLLAPSED. THE ACFT THEN SWERVED OFF THE RWY & CAME TO REST ON UPSLOPING DIRT TERRAIN. INVESTIGATION REVEALED THE LEFT MAIN LANDING GEAR SPRING STRUT, PN 0741601-1, HAD FAILED WHERE IT WAS CLAMPED TO THE FUSELAGE. A METALLURGICAL EXAM SHOWED THAT FATIGUE CRACKING HAD OCCURRED IN THE LOWER FORWARD AREA OF THE SPRING STRUT WHERE FRETTING HAD OCCURREDAT THE CLAMP. THE ACFT HAD A TOTAL FLT TIME OF 3060 HRS.
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: private
- Ratings: single-engine land
- Flight time: 220 hours in all; 37 in this make and model; 9 in the last 90 days; 164 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 3,060 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, July 11, 1986; 40 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,800 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental O-470-R (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: 3LA Lawrence KS
- Destination: K19
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 19, 2,800 ft by 50 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: dusk
- Wind: from 190° at 13 knots
- Visibility: 8 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 10,000 ft
- Temperature: 79°F (26°C), dew point 59°F (15°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 1:00 am from STJ, 39 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 2 | |||
| Passengers | 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.
Connections how this case links to the rest of the register
- N3239U on the register today · the tail number may have moved to another aircraft since
- Cessna 182 Skylane 11,834 registered today · the model family and its accident history
- Cessna 72,684 aircraft on the register
- Engine: Continental O-470-R 107 aircraft carry this series today · as the NTSB recorded it
- Albany Municipal · nearest airport
- Accidents and incidents in Missouri 1,640 since 1982 · 219 in the last ten years
- Missouri 5,813 aircraft registered
The whole map of how records connect · these connections as data: /graph/accident/MKC86LA183.json.
The bigger picture in Aviation Analytics: accidents over time since 1982, by model, by phase of flight and conditions, by place and on the map.
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 does not name anyone involved, its policy at this time. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.