Piper PA32 N81912

Summary

On 20 March 2009 at about 15:45 local time, a Piper PA32 registered N81912, operated by Servant Air Ministries, Inc, was involved in an accident near Merritt Island, Florida, United States. One person was 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

20 March 2009 at 15:45

Classification

Accident

Location

Merritt Island, Florida, United States

Nearest airport

Merritt Island Airport (COI)

Coordinates

28.3397, -80.6864

Aircraft

Piper PA32

Registration

N81912

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Servant Air Ministries, Inc

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Merritt Island → Merritt Island

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA09CA213

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's failure to maintain directional control during the landing roll.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot was performing takeoffs and landings on runway 29 to maintain her currency. During the third landing, the airplane departed the right side of the 75-foot-wide runway. The pilot reported that the rudder pedals were mushy after touchdown, during landing rollout, and that the airplane did not respond to her inputs to the left rudder pedal. However, the left rudder controls and nosewheel steering were operational when the pilot commanded the airplane to turn hard left to return to the runway pavement. Impact with the runway edge collapsed the nose gear. The reported winds at the time of the accident were from 040 degrees at 10 knots. Examination of the airplane by a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector revealed that the airplane received substantial damage to the nose gear, firewall, propeller, and fuselage. No preexisting mechanical deficiencies were identified with the airplane's steering, brakes or flight controls. On a previous flight in the same airplane three months prior to the accident, the pilot reported that the "nose wheel steering seemed squirrely as the airplane veered to the right and rudder pedal inputs were mushy." After that flight, maintenance on the airplane included replacing the left brake pads and tightening the nuts securing the nosewheel. Other pilots who recently flew the accident airplane reported nothing unusual with the nosewheel steering, but that the airplane was a "handful" during landings.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.