Pilot Debrief

Piper PA 24 near Reno, NV — 2019-03-17

Final reportWPR19LA098
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Date
2019-03-17
Location
Reno, NV, USA
Airport
RTS
Aircraft
Piper PA 24
Registration
N5028P
Category
Airplane
Highest injury
None
Fatalities
0
Phase of flight
Landing

Probable cause

Failure of the engine mount due to internal corrosion and wall thinning, which resulted in a loss of directional control and nose gear collapse during landing.

NTSB narrative

At the conclusion of an uneventful flight, the pilot verified that the landing gear were down and locked after he observed a green indication on the instrument panel. During landing, the airplane touched down normally on the main landing gear but veered left when the nose landing gear contacted the runway, and departed the runway edge. The left wing impacted an airport sign and the airplane spun to the left. As the airplane slid in gravel, the nose landing gear and right main landing gear collapsed, substantially damaging the airplane. The accident pilot purchased the airplane several months before the accident after the airplane had been parked mostly outside for 27 years. He flew the airplane about 15 hours before the accident flight. Postaccident examination of the nose landing gear revealed that the assembly was mostly intact except for the engine mount, which had failed where it supported the nose landing gear. The engine mount tubes displayed moderate to heavy corrosion deposits and wall thinning. The investigation could not determine the exact order in which the tubes failed; however, as the tubes were integral to the nose landing gear support, it is likely that the corrosion and wall thinning decreased the strength of the tubes and resulted in their failure when the nose landing gear was under load after touchdown. As the investigation did not find any preimpact anomalies with the nose landing gear steering system, the engine mount failure likely compromised the pilot's steering capabilities after touchdown before the collapse occurred. As the wear and corrosion on the tubes was mostly internal, it could not be determined whether the mechanic who most recently serviced the airplane would have recognized their condition.

Analysis

Primary failure mode
Mechanical failure
First missed decision gate
Inspection of landing gear system components before flight could have prevented failure.

NTSB coding

Evidence available

  • Photos
  • 10 docket documents
View NTSB final reportView NTSB docket

Docket documents10

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