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CEN13LA531

2013-08-30 · Paris, Texas, United States · None · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport PRX

Current FAA registration · N862

Make / Model
CESSNA/WEAVER 305E
Year of manufacture
1995 · 18 years old at event
Engine
CONT MOTOR O-470 SERIES (230 hp)
Seats / Engines
4 seats · 1 engine
Last airworthiness date
19951228
ADS-B equipped
Yes — Mode-S ABD644

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

The failure of a landing gear O-ring, which prevented the pilot from being able to maintain directional control of the airplane during landing.

Factual narrative

On August 30, 2013, at 1930 central daylight time, a Weaver Cessna 305E, N862, nosed-over and impacted the runway during landing at Cox Field Airport (PRX), Paris, Texas. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the wings and vertical stabilizer. The private pilot was uninjured. The airplane was registered to and operated by the pilot under 14 CFR Part 91 as a personal flight that was not operating on a flight plan. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the local flight that originated from PRX. In a written statement provided to the Federal Aviation Administration, the pilot stated that the airplane touched down on the main landing gear wheels during a wheel landing on runway 17. The engine power was at idle and after about 4-5 seconds, the right main landing gear started to oscillate causing a braking effect. To compensate, the pilot added left brake. The propeller then contacted the runway surface and the airplane suddenly nosed-over. An airplane logbook entry dated September 25, 2013, stated that inspection of the Cessna L-19 castoring landing gear revealed that the outside O-ring was blown resulting in insufficient fluid pressure. The entry made reference to the Cessna L-19 Maintenance Manual, page 4-53, figure 4-29. A National Transportation Safety Board Aircraft Accident/Incident Report (Form 6120.1) was emailed to the pilot on September 20, 2013, and on November 25, 2013. Form 6120.1 was not received from the pilot. After touchdown, the right main landing gear began to oscillate and brake. The pilot applied the left brake to compensate for the right main landing gear braking; the propeller then contacted the runway, and the airplane nosed over. Examination of the right main landing gear revealed that the outside O-ring was blown, which prevented the pilot from being able to maintain directional control of the airplane during landing. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12

NTSB Findings

FAA avdata. C = Cause, F = Factor.

  • C Aircraft-Aircraft systems-Landing gear system-Main landing gear attach sec-Failure - C
  • C Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Directional control-Attain/maintain not possible - C

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2013_CEN13LA531.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

Related research

Matched on aircraft type or causal vocabulary (maintenance). All research papers