NTSB MIA88LA235 — 1988-07-23 · PLYMOUTH, Florida, United States

Current FAA registration · N12840

Make / Model: CESSNA 172M
Year of manufacture: 1973 · 15 years old at event
Engine: LYCOMING 0-320 SERIES (180 hp)
Seats / Engines: 4 seats · 1 engine
Last airworthiness date: 19731009
ADS-B equipped: Yes — Mode-S A07467

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

N12840 Cessna 172M None

Factual narrative

AFTER A NORMAL LNDG, DURING THE LNDG ROLL AT APRX 50-55 MPH, THE ACFT ROLLED THROUGH A 1-2' DEEP PUDDLE OF WATER. THE ACFT SLOWED & AT APRX 35 MPH, THE RT MAIN LNDG GEAR SLOWLY BEGAN ROTATING AFT. THE ACFT CAME TO REST SUPPORTED BY THE RT HORIZONTAL STABILIZER & THE NOSE & LEFT MAIN LNDG GEAR. EXAMINATION OF THE FAILED GEAR REVEALED THE ATTACH BOLT FOR THE GEAR SPRING ASSY FAILED, ALLOWING THE GEAR TO ROTATE AFT. EXAMINATION OF THE BOLT REVEALED IT FAILED DUE TO EXCESS SHEAR LOADS PLACED ON IT DURING TORSIONAL LOADING OF THE UPPER END OF THE LNDG GEAR TUBE. THE BOLT ALSO SHOWED EVIDENCE OF FRETTING. HARDNESS TESTS PERFORMED REVEALED THE BOLT WAS WITHIN SPECIFICATIONS. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_1988_MIA88LA235.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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