NTSB CAROL · Event
Event FTW98LA280
Registry · N4038B
FAA Aircraft Registry record.
Make / Model
BELLANCA 17-30A
Year of manufacture
1976 · 22 years old at event
Engine
CONT MOTOR IO 520 SERIES (285 hp)
Seats / Engines
4 seats · 1 engine
ADS-B equipped
Yes — Mode-S A4BB38
Registrant of record
HARRIS JAMES THOMAS
Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).
Aircraft involved
Probable cause & findings
The collapsed nose gear as a result of failure of the nose gear locking mechanism.
Factual narrative
On June 18, 1998, at 1715 central daylight time, a Bellanca 17-30A airplane, N4038B, was substantially damaged following a loss of control while landing near Shreveport, Louisiana. The airline transport rated pilot, sole occupant of the airplane, was not injured. The airplane was owned and operated by the pilot under Title 14 CFR Part 91. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and a VFR flight plan was filed. The personal flight originated from the Nashville International Airport (BNA) at 1400 central daylight time. The pilot reported that after a "normal approach" to runway 23 at the Shreveport Regional Airport (SHV), the aircraft pulled "sharply" to the right during the landing roll. The airplane departed the right side of the runway, struck a taxi sign and taxi light and came to rest in the upright position. The pilot/owner reported that the right wing spar was damaged, and the nose gear "collapsed in reverse direction". He stated that personnel from a local maintenance facility inspected the aircraft after the accident. They reported that the down spring loaded rod assembly had failed, which allowed the nose gear to collapse. The pilot reported that after a 'normal approach' to runway 23 at the Shreveport Regional Airport (SHV), the aircraft pulled 'sharply' to the right during the landing roll. The airplane departed the right side of the runway, struck a taxi sign and taxi light and came to rest in the upright position. The pilot/owner reported that the right wing spar was damaged, and the nose gear 'collapsed in reverse direction.' A local maintenance facility inspected the aircraft and found that the down spring loaded rod assembly had failed, allowing the nose gear to collapse. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12
Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file
NTSB_1998_FTW98LA280.txt.
Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb.
Full investigation docket on
data.ntsb.gov ↗.
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Related research
What the literature says.
Academic papers and agency reports matching this event's aircraft type or causal vocabulary (loss of control, maintenance). Sourced from NASA NTRS, NTSB Safety Studies, FAA CAMI, AOPA Air Safety Institute, Embry-Riddle Scholarly Commons, arXiv, and the Semantic Scholar academic graph.
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- Embry-Riddle Scholarly Commons 2026 · Journal article (IJAAA)
From Reactive to Predictive: A hybrid Trust-Mediated Adoption Framework for Data-Driven Maintenance in Distributed-Authority Aviation Environments
Modern aviation maintenance operates within increasingly data-intensive technological environments, yet the operational integration of predictive maintenance into routine decision-making remains incon…
- Embry-Riddle Scholarly Commons 2025 · Journal article (JAAER)
A Scoping Review of Aviation Loss of Control Inflight Research
Loss of control – inflight (LOC-I) contributes to aircraft accidents at unacceptably high rates. Significant industry efforts and research have aimed to improve LOC-I prevention, detection, and recove…
- Semantic Scholar 2025 · Article (Applied Sciences)
Decision-Making Framework for Aviation Safety in Predictive Maintenance Strategies
The implementation of predictive maintenance (PM) in aviation presents unique challenges due to strict safety requirements, complex operational environments, and regulatory constraints.
- SKYbrary (Eurocontrol) 2024 · SKYbrary article
Loss of Control In-Flight (LOC-I) — SKYbrary Knowledge Base
SKYbrary comprehensive knowledge-base entry on Loss of Control In-Flight — definitions, contributing factors, accident case studies (Air France 447, Colgan 3407), and prevention strategies.
- Embry-Riddle Scholarly Commons 2024 · Journal article (JAAER)
Low-Resource Automatic Speech Recognition Domain Adaptation – A Case-Study in Aviation Maintenance
With timeliness and efficiency being critical in the aviation maintenance industry, the need has been growing for smart technological solutions that optimize and streamline the different underlying ta…
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