Pilot Debrief

PIPER PA-44-180 near Phoenix, AZ — 2011-09-04

Final reportWPR11LA471
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Date
2011-09-04
Location
Phoenix, AZ, USA
Airport
DVT
Aircraft
PIPER PA-44-180
Registration
N316PA
Category
Airplane
Highest injury
None
Fatalities
0
Phase of flight
Landing

Probable cause

The pilot's improper flare and hard landing, which resulted in the failure of the nose landing gear drag link in overstress.

NTSB narrative

The private pilot and certified flight instructor (CFI) were practicing a series of landings. The CFI said that the second and third landings were short field landings and were not excessively hard. During the landing roll on the third landing, the nose of the airplane lowered, and the CFI suspected a collapse of the oleo strut. The CFI took control of the airplane and taxied down the runway. The CFI stated that, during the taxi, he noted nothing irregular with the handling of the airplane and informed the tower air traffic controller that this was going to be a full stop landing. After contacting the ground controller, the CFI added power, and noticed that the steering had failed, so he attempted to use differential thrust to turn the airplane. He then heard the propellers contact the ground and immediately shut down both engines. After exiting the airplane, he noticed that the nose gear was extended forward and resting against the most forward fuselage rib in the wheel well. A postaccident examination revealed a fractured and separated drag link and hydraulic fluid leaking from the wheel well. Examination of the fractured surfaces revealed rough matte gray features consistent with an overstress fracture.

Analysis

Primary failure mode
Mechanical failure
First missed decision gate
CFI could have aborted landing after suspecting gear collapse.

NTSB coding

Evidence available

  • 3 docket documents
View NTSB final reportView NTSB docket

Docket documents3

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