Piper PA 46-350P N35CM

Summary

On 1 February 2022 at about 17:30 local time, a Piper PA 46-350P registered N35CM, operated by Crystal Motorsports LLC, was involved in an accident near Crystal River, 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.

Date

1 February 2022 at 17:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Crystal River, Florida, United States

Nearest airport

Crystal River-Capt Tom Davis F (CGC)

Coordinates

28.8676, -82.5741

Aircraft

Piper PA 46-350P

Registration

N35CM

Category

Airplane

Year built

2016

Engines

1

Operator

Crystal Motorsports LLC

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Atlanta → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA22LA121

Nobody was injured.

Collapse of the nose wheel landing gear assembly due to lateral loads encountered on the turf runway during rollout.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

After landing on the turf runway, the airplane drifted slightly to the right of the centerline and the pilot corrected with differential braking and left rudder, which brought the airplane back toward the centerline. When the speed reduced to less than 20 knots, the nose landing gear collapsed, and the lower engine mount was damaged. A landing gear trunnion bolt and fitting were found to have fractured consistent with overload, suggesting they fractured during the collapse rather than beforehand. Remnants of grass from the turf runway were found around the circumference of the right side of the nose landing gear wheel, between the wheel rim and the tire. This is consistent with a significant lateral load on the wheel from the right side, while the wheel was rotating (distributing grass around its circumference). Although it could not be determined when the lateral load occurred, the pilot reported correcting the airplane heading to the left during the landing roll, and tire marks showed the airplane veering left at the end of the landing roll. The lateral load on the nosewheel likely resulted in the overload failure of the trunnion bolt and fitting.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.