Czech Sport Aircraft As PIPER SPORT N197PS

Summary

On 14 April 2016 at about 12:22 local time, a Czech Sport Aircraft As PIPER SPORT registered N197PS was involved in an accident near Mansfield, Ohio, 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

14 April 2016 at 12:22

Classification

Accident

Location

Mansfield, Ohio, United States

Nearest airport

Mansfield Lahm Regional Airpor (MFD)

Coordinates

40.8214, -82.5167

Aircraft

Czech Sport Aircraft As PIPER SPORT

Registration

N197PS

Category

Airplane

Year built

2010

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Columbia Statio → Mansfield

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN16LA157

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's failure to inspect the nose landing gear (NLG), which resulted in a crack going undetected and the subsequent separation of the NLG at the weld area during landing.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The airline transport pilot/owner was conducting a personal cross-country flight. The pilot stated that, after the main landing gear touched down, he eased the backpressure on the control stick and that the nose landing gear (NLG) then separated from the airplane. The airplane slid on the runway surface. Postaccident examination of the airplane revealed that the NLG had fractured at a weld area. An airplane manufacturer service bulletin (SB) called for periodic inspection of the NLG for cracks in the weld area every 25 hours. The pilot reported that the NLG had accumulated a total time in service of 371 hours at the time of the accident and that it was last inspected 31 flight hours before the accident.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.