Piper PA23 N14175

Summary

On 25 June 2024 at about 18:13 local time, a Piper PA23 registered N14175, operated by Box Aviation Inc, was involved in an accident near Montgomery, Alabama, 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

25 June 2024 at 18:13

Classification

Accident

Location

Montgomery, Alabama, United States

Nearest airport

Montgomery Rgnl (Dannelly Fld) (MGM)

Coordinates

32.3007, -86.3898

Aircraft

Piper PA23

Registration

N14175

Category

Airplane

Year built

1971

Engines

2

Operator

Box Aviation Inc

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA24LA275

Nobody was injured.

The failure of the nose landing gear actuator to maintain a fully down and locked position.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot reported that he was completing a practice instrument approach, and after extending the landing gear he saw 3 green lights, indicating the landing gear were down and locked. He continued the approach as normal and touched down on the main landing gear, but as the nose lowered it continued “straight to the ground.” The airplane skidded on its nose down the runway before coming to a stop. The forward lower portion of the airplane’s fuselage was substantially damaged. Following the accident, the nose landing gear actuator was removed, and bench-tested under the supervision of a Federal Aviation Administration inspector. The test revealed that when hydraulic pressure was removed from extension side of the actuator it began an uncommanded movement in the opposite, landing gear retraction, direction. This uncommanded movement was likely due to internal leakage in the actuator, which would have prevented the nose landing gear from remaining in the fully down and locked position.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.