Cessna 140 accident near Georgetown, California, October 20, 2022
On October 20, 2022 at about 5:10 pm local time, a 1946 Cessna 140, registered N55DC, was substantially damaged in an accident during takeoff (rejected takeoff) near Georgetown, California (Georgetown Airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot’s failure to maintain control during an attempted go-around, which resulted in a runway excursion and a separation of the right main landing gear.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 12, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- October 20, 2022 · about 5:10 pm local time · cases in 2022
- Place
- Georgetown, California · Georgetown Airport · cases near this airport · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 140, built 1946 · all 140s on the register
- Registration
- N55DC · registry record · serial 11395
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
After the pilot reduced the engine speed to idle while landing, the main landing gear touched down and the airplane bounced. The pilot then floated the airplane down the runway to decelerate the airspeed. The airplane touched down again in a nose high attitude then veered off the left side of the runway. The pilot applied full power to abort the landing, but the airplane continued off the left side of the runway and contacted vegetation before proceeding down a slope, which resulted in substantial damage to the left aileron and left horizontal stabilizer. The right main landing gear leg also separated from the airplane and came to rest in the debris path. Postaccident examination of the landing gear assembly revealed that the right main landing gear leg was normally secured to a support assembly within the airframe by a bolt, washer, and nut. The bolt remained attached with its associated hardware, but the bolthead had fractured in overstress. In addition, there was downward deformation at the lower support of the main landing gear support assembly, likely due to an exceedance of the yield strength of the metal and consistent with overload separation. As the bolt and damaged area of the support assembly are designed to transfer the landing gear loads directly to the airframe, the evidence in this case suggests that the right main landing gear support assembly failed as the result of the pilot’s failure to maintain directional control during an attempted go-around, which resulted in runway excursion and a separation of the right main landing gear.
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
- Loss of control in flight during takeoff (rejected takeoff) defining event
The NTSB's findings
- Personnel issues › Task performance › Use of equip/info › Aircraft control › Pilot
- Aircraft › Aircraft systems › Landing gear system › Main landing gear › Capability exceeded other cases naming the landing gear
- Aircraft › Aircraft oper/perf/capability › Performance/control parameters › (general) › Not attained/maintained
Pilot
- Certificate: student
- Flight time: 81 hours in all; 39 in this make and model; 40 in the last 90 days; 2 in the last 30 days; 24 as pilot in command
- Last flight review: July 24, 2022
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (without waivers/limitations)
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 5,333.0 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, April 20, 2022; 12 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,450 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Cont Motor C-85-12F (piston); 5,344 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: E36 Georgetown CA at 4:20 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 16, 2,979 ft by 62 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 160° at 3 knots
- Visibility: 9 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 79°F (26°C), dew point 41°F (5°C)
- Altimeter: 30.04 inHg
- Observation at 10:15 am from KAUN, 10 miles away
Weather report (METAR): KAUN 201715Z AUTO 16003KT 9SM CLR 26/05 A3004 RMK A01
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flight crew | 1 |
Photographs from the investigation 5 pictures from the NTSB's docket, as the NTSB released them
Photo 1 – View of right main landing gear mark from runway excursion
Photo 2 – Right main landing gear in foreground and main wreckage in background
Photo 3 – Left aileron
Photo 4 – Left horizontal stabilizer and elevator
Photo 5 – Right main landing gear support assemblyThe NTSB's photographs with the NTSB's captions, at screen size. Open a picture to see it full size or to report one that should not be shown.
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
8 documents, released by the NTSB on May 2, 2024. 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 | Pilot/operator Aircraft Accident Report, NTSB Form 6120.1 | PDF, 11 pages | View Download |
| 2 | NTSB Materials Lab Factual Report | PDF, 1 page | View Download |
| 3 | Letter from Textron | PDF, 1 page | View Download |
| 4 | Main Landing Gear Excerpt from Parts Manual | PDF, 3 pages | View Download |
| 5 | Aircraft Logbook Excerpt | PDF, 3 pages | View Download |
| 6 | Statement of Party Representatives to NTSB Investigation | PDF, 1 page | View Download |
| 7 | Release of Aircraft Wreckage, NTSB Form 6120.15 | PDF, 2 pages | View Download |
| 8 | Accident Photographs | PDF, 7 pages · our copy | 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
- N55DC 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 72,684 aircraft on the register
- Engine: Cont Motor C-85-12F 90 aircraft carry this series today · as the NTSB recorded it
- Georgetown Airport · nearest airport
- Accidents and incidents in California 9,069 since 1982 · 1,087 in the last ten years
- California 27,686 aircraft registered
The whole map of how records connect · these connections as data: /graph/accident/WPR23LA021.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.