Piper PA31 N45MJ
8 March 2019 · Leesburg, Florida, United States · No injuries
Summary
On 8 March 2019 at about 15:00 local time, a Piper PA31 registered N45MJ was involved in an accident near Leesburg, 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.
The record
- Date
- at 15:00
- Classification
- Accident
- Location
- Leesburg, Florida, United States
- Nearest airport
- Leesburg Intl (LEE)
- Coordinates
- 28.8228, -81.8083
- Aircraft
- Piper PA31
- Registration
- N45MJ
- Category
- Airplane
- Year built
- 1979
- Engines
- 2
- Operator
- Not recorded
- Operating rule
- Part 91: General Aviation
- Purpose of flight
- Flight Test
- Phase of flight
- Not recorded
- Route
- Orlando → Orlando
- Aircraft damage
- Substantial
- Weather
- VMC
- Light
- Day
- NTSB number
- ERA19LA125
People
Nobody was injured.
| On board | Died | Serious | Minor | Uninjured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Probable cause
Maintenance personnel’s improper rigging of the main landing gear actuators, which resulted in the collapse of the right main landing gear.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.
Read the full NTSB narrative
The pilot reported that, while his airplane was undergoing an annual inspection, maintenance personnel suggested that an inner landing gear door kit be installed. After the door kit installation was completed, numerous test flights were conducted. Rigging adjustments were made after each flight, and while taxiing back to the ramp following the last flight, the right landing gear collapsed. A postaccident extension and retraction test were performed using a hydraulic test unit. Both normal and emergency (hand pump) landing gear extension and retraction tests were performed. When checking the actuator rigging, both left and right main landing gear actuators did not drive the main gear into a locked position. No preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures of the landing gear system were observed, thus it is likely that the rigging condition resulted in the collapse of the right main landing gear.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.
Other Piper PA31 accidents
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12 Mar 2019 | Piper PA31 | Madeira, Ohio, United States | MARC, Inc. | Fatal | 1 |
| 21 Jan 2019 | Piper PA31 | Chignik Lagoon, Alaska, United States | Lake Clark Air Inc | No injuries | - |
| 15 Sep 2019 | Piper PA31 | Popayan, Colombia | - | Fatal | 7 |
| 18 Apr 2020 | Piper PA31 | Buckland, Alaska, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 12 Feb 2020 | Piper PA31 | Guaymaral, Colombia | Aero Taxi Guaymaral ATG S.A.S. | Fatal | 4 |
| 18 Jun 2018 | Piper PA31 | Antananarivo, Madagascar | Madagascar Trans Air | Fatal | 5 |
Other accidents in this area
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 Aug 2019 | Piper PA28 | Miami, Florida, United States | Osorio Aviation Corp | Serious injuries | - |
| 23 Aug 2019 | Beechcraft 35 | Fort Myers, Florida, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 24 Nov 2019 | Bushby BUSHBY MUSTANG M II | Milton, Florida, United States | - | Fatal | 1 |
| 23 Nov 2019 | Beechcraft E35 | Okeechobee, Florida, United States | Spaceport Aviation | Serious injuries | - |
| 23 Sep 2019 | Van's RV 6 | Lakeland, Florida, United States | - | Serious injuries | - |
| 8 Aug 2019 | Cessna 152 | Hollywood, Florida, United States | American Flight Training LLC | No injuries | - |