Piper PA 46 350P N224JJ

Summary

On 15 December 2014 at about 16:30 local time, a Piper PA 46 350P registered N224JJ, operated by Dilkara Leasing LLC, was involved in an accident near Houston, Texas, 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

15 December 2014 at 16:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Houston, Texas, United States

Nearest airport

Sugar Land Regional (SGR)

Coordinates

29.6219, -95.6569

Aircraft

Piper PA 46 350P

Registration

N224JJ

Category

Airplane

Year built

1994

Engines

1

Operator

Dilkara Leasing LLC

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Georgetown → Houston

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN15LA078

Nobody was injured.

The nose landing gear collapse as a result of the fracture of the engine mount at the nose gear actuator attachment point in an area that a service bulletin (SB) recommended for inspection. Contributing to the accident was maintenance personnel’s inadequate compliance with the SB.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot reported that, just after landing and as the nosewheel touched the runway, the airplane veered sharply left. The pilot applied right rudder; however, the airplane continued off the left side of the runway. The airplane's nose landing gear (NLG) collapsed, and the airplane came to rest in a grassy area 150 ft from the runway. The examination of the airplane revealed a fractured engine mount in the area of the NLG actuator. As a result of similar accidents, the airplane's manufacturer had issued (about 12 1/2 years before the accident) a mandatory service bulletin (SB), which included a 100-hour recurring inspection to determine if cracks had developed on the engine mount in the area of the NLG actuator feet. The latest version of the SB was issued about 6 months before the accident. A review of the airplane's maintenance records revealed that maintenance personnel had completed the SB inspection during three previous annual inspections; however, there was no record that the SB inspection was conducted during the last annual inspection, which occurred about 6 months before the accident. The accident is consistent with an uncommanded left turn during landing as a result of a broken engine mount. Based on the evidence and the events, it's likely that maintenance personnel did not inspect the engine mount during the most recent annual inspection or that they did inspect the area and missed the cracks that had likely developed on the engine mount.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.