Piper PA-28-161 N6462C
4 September 2000 · Palo Alto, California, United States · No injuries
Summary
On 4 September 2000 at about 01:40 local time, a Piper PA-28-161 registered N6462C, operated by ZP Aviation Inc., was involved in an accident near Palo Alto, California, United States. 2 people were on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.
The record
- Date
- at 01:40
- Classification
- Accident
- Location
- Palo Alto, California, United States
- Nearest airport
- Palo Alto Apt of Scc (PAO)
- Coordinates
- 37.4496, -122.0992
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-28-161
- Registration
- N6462C
- Category
- Airplane
- Engines
- 1
- Operator
- ZP Aviation Inc.
- Operating rule
- Part 91: General Aviation
- Purpose of flight
- Personal
- Phase of flight
- Not recorded
- Route
- Monterey → Unknown
- Aircraft damage
- Substantial
- Weather
- VMC
- Light
- Day
- NTSB number
- LAX00LA330
People
Nobody was injured.
| On board | Died | Serious | Minor | Uninjured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
Probable cause
The failure of maintenance personnel to detect and correct loose attachment fasteners and fretting at the landing gear attachment during maintenance inspections.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.
Read the full NTSB narrative
The pilot reported he landed the rental aircraft 'somewhat hard' and collapsed the left main landing gear of the fixed gear airplane. The landing gear casting is bolted to the aft side of the wing spar with 8 bolts, 4 in a rectangular pattern on the top and 4 in a similar pattern on the bottom. During postaccident examination of the bottom 4 bolts it was determined that 2 were absent and not located in the wing, the bolt head was missing on the third bolt, and the fourth bolt was loose. All 4 of the upper attach bolts were loose. There was fretting at the casting-to-spar interface and the holes were elongated. The 8 bolts on the right main landing gear attachment, which did not fail, were all loose. There are no Airworthiness Directives or Service Bulletins in effect regarding the landing gear to wing spar attachment on this model aircraft. The aircraft manufacturer's Inspection Checklist for the 100-hour inspection instructs maintenance personnel to: 'Inspect gear struts, attachments, torque links and bolts for condition and security.'
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.
Other Piper PA-28 accidents
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 Nov 2000 | Piper PA-28-140 | Livermore, California, United States | Behram Irani | Serious injuries | - |
| 22 Feb 2000 | Piper PA-28-181 | Center Harbor, New Hampshire, United States | JON Eifert | Minor injuries | - |
| 31 May 2000 | Piper PA-28-140 | Long Beach, California, United States | - | Minor injuries | - |
| 10 Jul 2000 | Piper PA-28-180 | Santa Maria, California, United States | - | Minor injuries | - |
| 14 Aug 2000 | Piper PA-28-180 | Grass Valley, California, United States | - | Minor injuries | - |
| 17 Sep 2000 | Piper PA-28-161 | Prescott, Arizona, United States | - | No injuries | - |
All 9,402 records for this type
Other accidents in this area
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 Aug 2000 | Piper PA-30 | Davis, California, United States | Travis AFB Aeroclub | No injuries | - |
| 9 Aug 2000 | Cessna 150H | Corona, California, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 14 Feb 2000 | Cessna 182L | Coulterville, California, United States | - | Fatal | 2 |
| 31 May 2000 | Cessna 152 | Palm Springs, California, United States | The FLT School At Palm Springs | Fatal | 2 |
| 6 Nov 2000 | Cessna 340A | Selma, California, United States | Yecny Enterprises, Inc. | Fatal | 1 |
| 16 Feb 2000 | Cessna 172N | Palm Springs, California, United States | Bermuda Dunes Air Service | Minor injuries | - |