Piper PA-46-350P N91734

Summary

On 2 March 2004 at about 16:20 local time, a Piper PA-46-350P registered N91734, operated by Howard M. Robertson, was involved in an accident near Montgomery, Alabama, United States. One person was on board and one had minor injuries. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

2 March 2004 at 16:20

Classification

Accident

Location

Montgomery, Alabama, United States

Nearest airport

Montgomery Regional (KMGM)

Coordinates

32.3006, -86.3939

Aircraft

Piper PA-46-350P

Registration

N91734

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Howard M. Robertson

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Unknown

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Montgomery → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

NTSB number

ATL04LA114

1 person had minor injuries.

The pilot's inadequate compensation for wind and his failure to maintain directional control during landing roll that resulted in the collapse of the nose gear. The crosswind was a contributing factor.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot landed on runway 28 with a crosswind from the left. After touchdown, the airplane yawed to the left. The pilot started correcting for the yaw but the correction felt to be too strong for the airplane to handle. The pilot allowed the airplane to drift to the left, eventually departing the runway on the left side onto the grass. Twenty yards from the runway, the nose gear dug into the soft grass and collapsed. Examination of the airplane revealed the nose gear collapsed, the propeller broken and damage to the firewall. The right main landing gear and the right wing tip were also bent. The nose gear trunnion was sent to the NTSB Materials Laboratory for a fracture analysis. The trunnion from the nose gear assembly was examined and the fracture faces contained no evidence of a fatigue crack or other preexisting condition leading to the fracture. According to the pilot's handbook the, the demonstrated crosswind component for the Piper PA-46-350P is 17 knots. The reported surface winds at the time of the accident were 200 degrees at 10 knots. The pilot's had accumulated a total of 1300 hours in the PA-46.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.