Piper PA-30 N325EE

Summary

On 10 July 2011 at about 19:30 local time, a Piper PA-30 registered N325EE, operated by Louis A. Caporicci, was involved in an accident near Plant City, Florida, 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

10 July 2011 at 19:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Plant City, Florida, United States

Nearest airport

Plant City Airport (PCM)

Coordinates

28.0000, -82.1631

Aircraft

Piper PA-30

Registration

N325EE

Category

Airplane

Engines

2

Operator

Louis A. Caporicci

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Zephyrhills → Plant City

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA11CA396

Nobody was injured.

The failure of a screw in the nose landing gear aligner assembly for undetermined reasons, which prevented the landing gear from fully extending.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot stated that he departed and proceeded to a nearby airport where he performed six touch-and-go takeoffs and landings followed by one full-stop landing, all of which were uneventful. Before landing during the return flight, the pilot lowered the landing gear lever and observed that there were no landing gear down-and-locked indications and that the landing gear circuit breaker (CB) was tripped. The pilot reset the CB and attempted to raise then lower the landing gear; however, the landing gear failed to fully extend, and the landing gear CB tripped again. Attempts to extend the landing gear using the emergency extension lever in accordance with the Pilot’s Operating Handbook, using G-loading, and following guidance from maintenance personnel were unsuccessful. The pilot performed a fly-by and was informed that the landing gear appeared to be partially extended. The pilot turned off the fuel and master and placed the mixture controls to idle-cutoff. At touchdown, the right main landing gear collapsed, followed by the left, then the nose. The airplane came to rest on the runway. Postaccident examination of the nose landing gear revealed that a screw was broken off in the first thread of the nose landing gear aligner assembly. The head of the screw and associated bushings were separated and not located. No determination was made for the reason for the fractured screw. The manufacturer’s assessment indicated there have been no service difficulty reports pertaining to the screw.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.