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CEN25LA402

2025-09-25 · Baton Rouge, Louisiana, United States · None · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport BTR

Current FAA registration · N361MB

Make / Model
CESSNA 525C
Year of manufacture
2021 · 4 years old at event
Engine
WILLIAMS FJ44-4A
Seats / Engines
11 seats · 2 engines
Last airworthiness date
20210820
ADS-B equipped
Yes — Mode-S A41118

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

The improper installation of the trunnion pin, which resulted in a failure of the right main landing gear. Contributing to the accident was the failure of maintenance personnel to follow the aircraft manufacturer’s maintenance procedures.

Factual narrative

About 10,000 ft mean sea level during a repositioning flight, the flight crew felt a bump/thud in the back of the airplane, which they thought was caused by something falling into the aisle from the lavatory. The flight crew observed that the landing gear unsafe light was illuminated. The flight crew stated that they followed emergency/abnormal airplane checklist items and reset the landing circuit breaker, which did not retract the landing gear. Then, the crew lowered the landing gear, which resulted in three green landing gear position lights. They continued the flight to the destination with the landing gear extended where they landed the airplane. During landing rollout and after applying moderate braking, they felt the right main landing gear collapse, which then punctured the right wing and resulted in substantial damage to right wing. Postaccident examination revealed the aft main landing gear trunnion pin for the right main landing gear was not properly installed during the recent maintenance as the aft trunnion pin was not installed far enough to allow the retaining roll pin to engage and retain the trunnion pin. The pilot reported and maintenance records showed that maintenance performed by the aircraft manufacturer’s service center, which included the reinstallation of the main landing gear trunnion pin, occurred 2.9 hours before the accident. According to the manufacturer’s maintenance manual installation procedures, maintenance personnel are required to make sure the aft end of the trunnion pin is at least 2.0 inches (50.8 mm) forward of the aft spar fitting to verify proper installation. The Civil Aviation Accident and Incident Investigation Commission (CIAIAC) of Spain investigated a similar accident that occurred on May 4, 2018, as documented in CIAIAC Report A-012/2018. As a result of the investigation, the aircraft manufacturer published a mandatory service letter (SL525C-32-12) to do an inspection of the aft main landing trunnion pins for proper installation. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12

NTSB Findings

FAA avdata. C = Cause, F = Factor.

  • — Personnel issues-Task performance-Maintenance-Installation-Maintenance personnel
  • — Aircraft-Aircraft systems-Landing gear system-Main gear strut/axle/truck-Incorrect service/maintenance

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2025_CEN25LA402.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 (stall, maintenance). All research papers