Pilot Debrief

PIPER PA-28-181 near Jeffersonville, IN — 2021-08-03

Final reportCEN21LA353
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Date
2021-08-03
Location
Jeffersonville, IN, USA
Airport
JVY
Aircraft
PIPER PA-28-181
Registration
N728A
Category
Airplane
Highest injury
None
Fatalities
0
Phase of flight
Landing

Probable cause

A loss of directional control due to failure of the landing gear attachment hardware for reasons that could not be determined based on the available information.

NTSB narrative

The flight instructor reported that, while performing takeoff and landing practice, the airplane touched down normally, then began drifting to the right, and both he and the student pilot attempted to correct without success. The airplane continued off the right side of the runway, and the right main landing gear impacted a runway light and separated from the airplane. The runway light was mounted on a concrete base that protruded from the ground about 1 inch and the stanchion, which was a small pipe, broke at the threads at its base. Based on these observations, the runway light should not have resulted in complete separation of the landing gear. Examination of remnants of three of the eight bolts that secured the landing gear to the wing spar revealed fracture features consistent with overstress. The five remaining bolts were not recovered, and their failure mode could not be determined. The circumstances of the accident were consistent with a loss of directional control due to the failure of the right main landing gear attachment hardware for reasons that could not be determined based on the available information. The airplane manufacturer relayed information regarding landing gear collapses on similar model airplanes, including one landing gear separation, due to fatigue and corrosion of the landing gear mounting hardware. About 7 months after this accident, the manufacturer issued a service bulletin requiring replacement of landing gear attachment hardware on various models, including the accident airplane model.

Analysis

Primary failure mode
Mechanical failure
First missed decision gate
Replace landing gear attachment hardware before the flight.

NTSB coding

Evidence available

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

Docket documents6

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