Cessna 421B accident near Medina, Ohio, July 7, 2005
On July 7, 2005 at about 1:15 pm local time, a Cessna 421B, registered N318RF, was substantially damaged in an accident near Medina, Ohio (Medina Municipal Airport). It was a business 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
An overload failure of the left main landing gear attachment assembly.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- July 7, 2005 · about 1:15 pm local time
- Place
- Medina, Ohio · Medina Municipal Airport · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 4 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 421B · all 421Bs on the register
- Registration
- N318RF · registry record · serial 421B0245
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Business flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The airplane landed on a 3,556-foot-long, 75-foot-wide, asphalt runway. Immediately after touchdown, the left main landing gear collapsed, and the airplane veered left into a ditch. A piece of the left main landing gear upper trunnion assembly was recovered near the point of touchdown. Metallurgical examination of the component revealed that the fracture face exhibited evidence of overload, with no fatigue noted.
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
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 3,084 hours in all; 32 in this make and model; 197 in the last 90 days; 66 in the last 30 days; 3,014 as pilot in command; 2,173 on instruments
- Last flight review: May 1, 2005
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (without waivers/limitations)
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 6,100 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, August 1, 2004; 152 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 7,450 lb
- Seats: 7
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine 1: Continental GTSIO-520 (piston); 0 hours total
- Engine 2: Continental GTSIO-520 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: 1G5 Medina OH at 1:40 pm
- Destination: RDU Raleigh NC
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 27, 3,556 ft by 75 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 070° at 4 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 25,000 ft; scat at 2,200 ft
- Temperature: 75°F (24°C), dew point 63°F (17°C)
- Altimeter: 30.10 inHg
- Observation at 1:51 pm from CLE, 17 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 3 |
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.