Piper PA-23-250 N950RM

Summary

On 2 June 2006 at about 20:30 local time, a Piper PA-23-250 registered N950RM was involved in an accident near Mena, Arkansas, 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.

Date

2 June 2006 at 20:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Mena, Arkansas, United States

Nearest airport

Mena Intermountain Municipal (MEZ)

Coordinates

34.5453, -94.2028

Aircraft

Piper PA-23-250

Registration

N950RM

Category

Airplane

Engines

2

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Brownfield → Mena

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

DFW06CA153

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's improper landing flare resulting in a hard landing and his improper recovery procedures for a bounced landing.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

While executing a visual approach to runway 35, the 7,600-hour private pilot confirmed that the landing gear was extended. The pilot reported, that immediately after touching down on the 5,000-foot long, by 75-foot wide asphalt runway, he noticed a lower than usual nose attitude and applied aft pressure on the yoke which resulted in the airplane becoming airborne. The pilot added that "upon settling back onto the runway" the nose landing gear collapsed and the airplane veered to the left. According to a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector, who examined the twin-engine airplane, the pilot "made a hard nose wheel landing which caused the airplane to bounce back into the air." The FAA inspector added that, "Upon another hard landing the nose wheel blew out and the left main gear collapsed." The pilot reported having accumulated approximately 300 hours in the same and model aircraft. The wind at the time of the mishap was reported as light and variable.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.