Piper PA-31-350 N71749
20 May 2003 · Wenatchee, Washington, United States · No injuries
Summary
On 20 May 2003 at about 03:15 local time, a Piper PA-31-350 registered N71749 was involved in an accident near Wenatchee, Washington, 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 03:15
- Classification
- Accident
- Location
- Wenatchee, Washington, United States
- Nearest airport
- Pangborn Memorial (EAT)
- Coordinates
- 47.3833, -120.2114
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-31-350
- Registration
- N71749
- Category
- Airplane
- Engines
- 2
- Operator
- Not recorded
- Operating rule
- Part 135: Air Taxi & Commuter
- Phase of flight
- Not recorded
- Route
- Spokane → Wenatchee
- Aircraft damage
- Substantial
- Weather
- VMC
- Light
- Dusk
- NTSB number
- SEA03LA085
People
Nobody was injured.
| On board | Died | Serious | Minor | Uninjured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Probable cause
Failure of the nose gear steering system for undetermined reasons during the landing roll.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.
Read the full NTSB narrative
During the landing roll, the nose gear began to oscillate when it made contact with the runway surface. The pilot applied up elevator to unload the nose gear. When the nose gear touched down again, the aircraft veered to the right side. The pilot tried to compensate with left rudder input, however, the aircraft traveled off the side of the runway surface onto soft terrain. The nose gear collapsed and the aircraft came to rest off the side of the runway. Inspection of the nose gear found that the steering arm on top of the nose gear strut was missing. The part has not been located.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.
Other Piper PA-31 accidents
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 21 Aug 2003 | Piper PA-31 | Clearwater, Florida, United States | Bruce T. Kendell | Fatal | 2 |
| 22 Mar 2003 | Piper PA-31 | Niedersachsen, Germany | Fotonor AS | No injuries | - |
| 12 Aug 2003 | Piper PA-31-350 | Albury, Australia | Wodonga Services P/L | No injuries | - |
| 16 Feb 2003 | Piper PA-31-350 | Taylor Mill, Kentucky, United States | - | Minor injuries | - |
| 13 Feb 2003 | Piper PA-31-350 | Goodland, Kansas, United States | Key Lime Air | No injuries | - |
| 13 Sep 2003 | Piper PA-31 | Uraba, Colombia | - | Fatal | 2 |
Other accidents in this area
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 Nov 2003 | Cessna 150C | Toledo, Washington, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 12 Jun 2003 | Rockwell S-2R | Royal City, Washington, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 2 Oct 2003 | Cessna 340 | Blakely Island, Washington, United States | - | Minor injuries | - |
| 17 Jan 2003 | Classic Fighter ME-262 REPRODUCTION | Everett, Washington, United States | Wolfgang Czaia | No injuries | - |
| 15 Jun 2003 | Cessna 172P | Seattle, Washington, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 10 Jul 2003 | Hanks AVID FLYER | Toledo, Washington, United States | - | Serious injuries | - |