Fokker F28-4000 incident near Huntington, West Virginia, March 4, 1995
On March 4, 1995 at about 7:05 pm local time, a Fokker F28-4000, registered N479AU, suffered minor damage in an incident near Huntington, West Virginia (Tri-State airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under scheduled airline rules (Part 121). No one was hurt; 21 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
THE FATIGUE FRACTURE OF THE LEFT MAIN LANDING GEAR UPPER TORQUE LINK.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- March 4, 1995 · about 7:05 pm local time
- Place
- Huntington, West Virginia · Tri-State · map
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 21 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Fokker F28-4000
- Registration
- N479AU · no longer on the register
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · scheduled airline rules (Part 121)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
DURING THE LANDING ROLL AFTER TOUCH DOWN, THE FLIGHT CREW OF THE COMMERCIAL PASSENGER JET NOTICED A VIBRATION THAT INCREASED IN SEVERITY, AS THE AIRPLANE DECELERATED. THIS WAS FOLLOWED BY THE AIRPLANE TILTING AND YAWING LEFT. THE PILOT-IN-COMMAND APPLIED RUDDER AND BRAKING, AND STOPPED THE AIRPLANE NEAR THE CENTER OF THE RUNWAY. EXAMINATION OF THE LEFT MAIN LANDING GEAR (MLG) REVEALED THE UPPER TORQUE HAD FAILED, WHICH ALLOWED THE SLIDING STRUT TO PIVOT, AND THE SUBSEQUENT SEPARATION OF BOTH LEFT MLG WHEELS. A TOLERANCE CHECK OF THE UPPER AND LOWER TORQUE LINKS REVEALED THE CLEVIS LUG AND THE PINTLE PIN CLEARANCES WERE OUT OF SPECIFICATIONS. SEVERAL SMALL FATIGUE CRACKS WERE OBSERVED IN THE VICINITY OF THE TORQUE LINK FRACTURE. INSPECTION CRITERIA REQUIRED THE MLG AND TOLERANCES TO BE CHECKED EVERY 1,150 HOURS, DURING THE 'B' CHECK. THE LAST INSPECTION OF THE LEFT MLG OCCURRED 475 HOURS PRIOR TO THE ACCIDENT. THE AIRPLANE RECORDS REVEALED A RECENT HISTORY OF LANDING GEAR VIBRATIONS.
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
- Ratings: multi-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 11,053 hours in all; 516 in this make and model; 174 in the last 90 days
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme, March 4, 1995; 4 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 98,000 lb
- Seats: 0
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Rolls-Royce (turbojet); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: PIT Pittsburgh PA at 6:15 pm
- Destination: HTS
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 12, 6,509 ft by 150 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 190° at 6 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 3,700 ft
- Temperature: 46°F (8°C), dew point 28°F (-2°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 6:50 pm from HTS
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 4 | |||
| 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.
Other NTSB records under N479AU the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
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.