NTSB NYC91LA248 — 1991-09-28 · ATLANTIC CITY, New Jersey, United States

Current FAA registration · N159MC

Make / Model: FAIRCHILD SA227-AC
Engine: AIRESEARCH TPE331 SERIES (904 hp)
Seats / Engines: 12 seats · 2 engines
Last airworthiness date: 19881208
ADS-B equipped: Yes — Mode-S A0ECB4

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

N159MC Fairchild SW3 None

Probable cause & findings

A FAILURE OF THE DOWN LOCK ROLLER BEARINGS OF THE RIGHT MAIN LANDING GEAR, AS THE RESULT OF AN IMPROPER MODIFICATION.

Factual narrative

THE AIRPLANE TOUCHED DOWN ON RUNWAY 31. UPON TOUCHDOWN, THE RIGHT MAIN LANDING GEAR COLLAPSED AND THE AIRPLANE VEERED OFF THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE RUNWAY. THE AIRPLANE HAD RECENTLY UNDERGONE A MODIFICATION TO INCREASE ITS GROSS OPERATING WEIGHT FROM 14,500 TO 16,000 POUNDS. IT WAS FOUND THAT BOTH ACTUATOR POSITIONING CAMS HAD BEEN GROUND DOWN AT THE DOWN LOCK LOBES. REMOVAL OF MATERIAL FROM THE CAMS IS NOT AUTHORIZED ON THIS AIRPLANE. BOTH RIGHT MAIN LANDING GEAR DOWN LOCK ROLLER BEARING OUTER RACES HAD FAILED. THE FAA FOUND ONE BEARING IN PIECES ON THE RUNWAY, AND THE OTHER WAS NOT RECOVERED. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_1991_NYC91LA248.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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