Piper PA-34-200T N2872S

Summary

On 15 September 2010 at about 19:00 local time, a Piper PA-34-200T registered N2872S, operated by Citrus County Sheriffs Department, was involved in an accident near Inverness, Florida, United States. 2 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

15 September 2010 at 19:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Inverness, Florida, United States

Nearest airport

Inverness Airport (X40)

Coordinates

28.8036, -82.0717

Aircraft

Piper PA-34-200T

Registration

N2872S

Category

Airplane

Engines

2

Operator

Citrus County Sheriffs Department

Operating rule

Public Use

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Inverness → Inverness

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA10TA481

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's improper flare which resulted in a hard landing and subsequent collapse of the nose landing gear.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The purpose of the flight was to conduct practice takeoffs and landings in the local airport traffic pattern utilizing a short field landing technique. During the landing roll, the pilot applied the brakes and retracted the flaps, then heard a "bang" as the nose landing gear collapsed and folded back into the wheel well. The nose of the airplane subsequently settled onto the runway and both propellers struck the runway surface. Postaccident examination of the nose landing gear revealed that the rivets attaching the nose landing gear actuator bracket to its mounting bulkhead had sheared vertically due to the landing. Additionally, the upper nose landing gear drag link attachment bolt was bent, consistent with a hard landing.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.