Piper AEROSTAR 601P N104RM

Summary

On 5 January 2012 at about 23:39 local time, a Piper AEROSTAR 601P registered N104RM, operated by Ivans Norman B, was involved in an accident near Las Vegas, Nevada, 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

5 January 2012 at 23:39

Classification

Accident

Location

Las Vegas, Nevada, United States

Nearest airport

North Las Vegas Airport (VGT)

Coordinates

36.2086, -115.1953

Aircraft

Piper AEROSTAR 601P

Registration

N104RM

Category

Airplane

Engines

2

Operator

Ivans Norman B

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

North Las Vegas → North Las Vegas

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

WPR12LA075

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's failure to maintain directional control of the airplane 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 reported that, immediately after touchdown, the airplane began “wavering” and moments later veered to the left. He attempted to regain directional control with the application of “full right rudder” and the airplane subsequently departed the right side of the runway. A witness reported that the airplane’s touchdown was “firm” but not abnormal. As the airplane approached the left side of the runway, it yawed right and skidded down the runway while facing right. As the airplane began moving to the right side of the runway, the witness heard the right engine increase to near full power. The airplane spun to the left, coming to rest facing the opposite direction from its approach to landing. Another witness reported seeing the propellers contact the ground. The pilot attributed the loss of directional control to a main landing gear malfunction. Postaccident examination of the airplane revealed that the left propeller assembly was feathered and that the right propeller blades were bent forward, indicative of the right engine impacting terrain under high power. Both throttle levers were found in the aft/closed position, and both propeller control levers were in the full-forward position. The propeller control levers exhibited little friction and could be moved with pressure from one finger. The evidence suggested that the pilot inadvertently feathered the left propeller assembly during the accident sequence. The pilot did not report any preaccident malfunctions or failures with the airplane’s engines or propeller assemblies that would have precluded normal operation.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.