Piper PA-46-350P N529TX

Summary

On 18 May 2002 at about 23:30 local time, a Piper PA-46-350P registered N529TX was involved in an accident near Palestine, Texas, United States. 3 people were 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

18 May 2002 at 23:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Palestine, Texas, United States

Nearest airport

Palestine Municipal (PSN)

Coordinates

31.7797, -95.7064

Aircraft

Piper PA-46-350P

Registration

N529TX

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Houston → Palestiine

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

FTW02LA165

Nobody was injured.

The failure of the nose gear actuator aft attach point from the tube cluster on the engine mount assembly. A contributing factor was the owner's non-compliance with the service bulletin for inspection/replacement of the engine mount.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

During the landing roll when the nose wheel made contact with the runway, the pilot felt a "hard bump followed by a violent jerking motion to the left." The airplane departed the runway before coming to rest. Removal of the engine cowling and examination of the engine mount revealed that the right side of the nose gear actuator aft attach point had separated from the tube cluster on the mount assembly. The actuator was found pushed aft into the firewall, and a section of the firewall, located aft of the nose landing gear actuator, was crushed upward and aft into the forward baggage compartment. According to the manufacturer's representative engineer, the structural integrity at the base of the engine mount was compromised and would require major repair." Photographs and stereoscopic magnification of the separated surface of the nose gear actuator aft attach point showed signatures consistent with overload. Service Bulletin (SB) No. 1103 was issued by the manufacturer for inspection and/or replacement of the engine mount. The SB had not been performed on the accident airplane; however, the owner/pilot reported that it was scheduled to be performed at the next scheduled maintenance visit.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.