Event NYC95LA201

Factual narrative

On August 21, 1995, about 1550 eastern daylight time, a Cessna 310B, airplane, N661R, was substantially damaged when it collided with terrain during the landing, at the Monticello Airport, Monticello, New York. The private pilot and passenger were not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the personal flight that departed from Sussex, New Jersey. There was no flight plan for the flight conducted under 14 CFR Part 91. In the NTSB form 6120.1/2, the pilot stated: ". . .At touchdown on runway 01, the right wheel fell off. . . .Upon leaving blacktop, airplane spun around and stopped beside runway. . . .Upon examination of wheel and strut, a weld broke causing wheel to fall off. . . ." The pilot reported that the airplane came to rest in a large embankment. Additionally, the right main landing gear assembly was examined by the National Transportation Safety Board Metallurgist Lab, Washington, District of Columbia. The metallurgist's factual report stated: "Examination of the fracture faces on the received pieces revealed features typical of fatigue cracking adjacent to the inner surface of the weld. The fatigue cracking initiated from multiple origins located at the inboard and outboard sides of the strut assembly. . . .Subsequent examination of the fracture faces revealed no evidence of corrosion pitting either at the fatigue crack origins or in any other areas of the fracture." During the landing roll, the right main gear collapsed, and the airplane veered off the runway into an embankment. Postaccident investigation revealed that the right main landing gear failed through the weld that held the socket-strut, strut-tube, and plate-reinforcement together. Metallurgical examination of the fracture revealed that the failure was due to fatigue. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12