Mitsubishi MU-2B-20 N800BY

Summary

On 29 December 2011 at about 01:00 local time, a Mitsubishi MU-2B-20 registered N800BY, operated by Northshore Group LLC, was involved in an accident near Picayune, Mississippi, United States. 3 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

29 December 2011 at 01:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Picayune, Mississippi, United States

Nearest airport

Picayune Municipal Airport (MJD)

Coordinates

30.4872, -89.6511

Aircraft

Mitsubishi MU-2B-20

Registration

N800BY

Category

Airplane

Engines

2

Operator

Northshore Group LLC

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Slidell → Picayune

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Night

NTSB number

ERA12CA128

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's excessive rate of descent during the landing flare/touchdown, which resulted in a hard landing.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

According to the pilot, the wind was calm at the time of the accident. The airplane entered the traffic pattern on a left base leg at 120 knots with the landing gear extended and flaps extended to 20 degrees. The pilot turned the airplane onto final approach, and when the runway was assured, extended the flaps to 40 degrees and confirmed the landing gear were down and locked. Upon landing, the airplane suddenly pitched nose down, and the pilot realized there was a discrepancy with the nose landing gear. He applied full thrust reverse, stopped, and secured the airplane on the runway. Postaccident examination of the airplane revealed that the nose landing gear was collapsed, the left main landing gear tire was separated from the wheel, and the wheel assembly was separated from the landing gear. Wrinkles in the fuselage skin near the forward pressure bulkhead were noted on both sides of the airplane. Additionally, the left and right upper and lower wing spars were distorted, and the fuel tanks at the wingtips were dislodged and loose from their mountings, consistent with substantial damage. The pilot reported no mechanical malfunctions or anomalies with the airplane, but the damage was consistent with a hard landing.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.