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MKC85IA131

1985-06-11 · ST. LOUIS, Missouri, United States · None · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport STL

N31013 has since been reassigned. It is now registered to a different aircraft (CAMERON BALLOONS US XT-77), which was not involved in this event.

Aircraft involved

Factual narrative

WHILE ON AN IFR APPROACH TO LAND AT STL AND THE PLT INITIATED FLAPS. THE NO.3 OUTBOARD FLAP VANE SEPARATED FROM ITS MOUNTING AND FELL TO THE GROUND. UPON SEPARATION THE FLAP VANE STRUCK THE LEADING EDGE OF THE TRAILING EDGE FLAP KNOCKING A HOLE IN THE SKIN. THE SUBSEQUENT LANDING WAS UNEVENTFUL. EXAMINATION OF THE FLAP VANE ATTACH FITTING REVEALED IT FAILED IN FATIGUE FOLLOWED BY AN OVERLOAD SEPARATION. THERE HAVE BEEN 14 RECORDED CASES OF FAILURE OF THE FLAP VANE ATTACH FITTINGS WITH 9 REPORTED SEPARATIONS FROM THE AIRCRAFT. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_1985_MKC85IA131.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.