Cessna 140 accident near Salinas, California, July 8, 2016
On July 8, 2016 at about 11:04 pm local time, a 1946 Cessna 140, registered N89965, was substantially damaged in an accident during landing (landing roll) near Salinas, California (Salinas airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The fatigue failure of a bulkhead-skin joint that supported the main landing gear leg, which resulted in the collapse of the left main landing gear. Contributing to the failure were the non-original structural configuration of the 60-year-old airplane and the relative inaccessibility for inspection or cleaning of the structure in the region of the fatigue failure.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made November 2, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- July 8, 2016 · about 11:04 pm local time · cases in 2016
- Place
- Salinas, California · Salinas · cases near this airport · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 140 G, built 1946 · all 140s on the register
- Registration
- N89965 · registry record · serial 9017
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The private pilot made a normal landing in his 1946 tailwheel-equipped airplane. During the landing roll, the left wing began to dip. The pilot applied opposite aileron, but the airplane continued to roll to the left, and the cabin floor deformed upward. The left wing and propeller struck the runway surface, and the airplane came to a stop on the runway shortly thereafter. Postaccident examination revealed that the left main landing gear leg had rotated aft and up, and that the landing gear leg support structure formed by two transverse bulkheads and portions of the lower fuselage skin had failed. Comparisons of fasteners, skin, and fairing panels revealed some discrepancies between the existing configuration and the original design, but the exact pre-accident configuration and condition could not be determined. Detailed laboratory examination revealed that the joint between the aft landing gear bulkhead and the lower fuselage skin had failed in fatigue. The fatigue failure sites were in a region of the airplane's structure that was not readily accessible for cleaning or inspection, and some sludge-like deposits of unidentified substance were observed in the location of the fatigue failure.
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
What happened, in order
- Aircraft maintenance event during prior to flight
- Landing gear collapse during landing (landing roll) defining event
The NTSB's findings
- cause Aircraft › Aircraft structures › Fuselage › Bulkheads (main fuselage) › Failure other cases naming the airframe structure
Pilot
- Certificate: private
- Ratings: single-engine land
- Flight time: 177 hours in all; 33 in this make and model; 12 in the last 90 days; 3 in the last 30 days; 115 as pilot in command
- Last flight review: January 23, 2016
- Medical certificate: Class 3
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 4,800 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, January 1, 2016; 27 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,601 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Cont Motor C85 SERIES (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: STS Santa Rosa CA at 9:45 pm
- Destination: SNS Salinas CA
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 26, 6,004 ft by 150 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 280° at 13 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 64°F (18°C), dew point 54°F (12°C)
- Altimeter: 30.02 inHg
- Observation at 10:53 pm from SNS
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flight crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 1 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
8 documents, released by the NTSB on May 16, 2017. View them here, or download them; the NTSB redacts some personal details before release, and this site shows the NTSB's own titles rather than its file names.
| # | Document | What it is | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Materials Laboratory Factual Report | PDF, 11 pages | View Download |
| 2 | Pilot/operator Aircraft Accident Report, NTSB Form 6120.1 | PDF, 9 pages | View Download |
| 3 | Metars | PDF, 2 pages | View Download |
| 4 | Pilot Written Statement | PDF, 1 page | View Download |
| 5 | Pilot Log Excerpt | PDF, 2 pages | View Download |
| 6 | Airframe Log Excerpt | PDF, 4 pages | View Download |
| 7 | Engine Log Excerpt | PDF, 4 pages | View Download |
| 8 | Airframe Examination | PDF, 22 pages | View Download |
The same docket at the NTSB · documents without a copy here are fetched from the NTSB when you open them.
Connections how this case links to the rest of the register
- N89965 on the register today · the tail number may have moved to another aircraft since
- Cessna 140 1,839 registered today · the model family and its accident history
- Cessna 72,682 aircraft on the register
- Engine: Cont Motor C85 SERIES 4,672 aircraft carry this series today · as the NTSB recorded it
- Salinas Municipal · nearest airport
- Charles M Schulz/Sonoma County · departed from
- Accidents and incidents in California 9,080 since 1982 · 1,097 in the last ten years
- California 27,897 aircraft registered
The whole map of how records connect · these connections as data: /graph/accident/WPR16LA139.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.