Piper PA-46-310P N444DT

Summary

On 1 December 2021 at about 20:50 local time, a Piper PA-46-310P registered N444DT, operated by Nakatsu Aviation LLC, was involved in an accident near Cassville, Missouri, 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

1 December 2021 at 20:50

Classification

Accident

Location

Cassville, Missouri, United States

Nearest airport

Cassville Muni (94K)

Coordinates

36.6976, -93.8995

Aircraft

Piper PA-46-310P

Registration

N444DT

Category

Airplane

Year built

1986

Engines

1

Operator

Nakatsu Aviation LLC

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Springdale → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN22LA060

Nobody was injured.

The pilot’s failure to reinstall the nose landing gear linkage prior to the flight which resulted in a loss of directional control during landing.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot reported that during landing following a local flight, the airplane oscillated left and right as he attempted to maintain directional control on the ground. The airplane departed the left side of the runway and impacted in a ravine. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the right wing spar. The pilot reported that before the flight he had reinstalled the nose landing gear steering arm but did not properly secure the steering linkage to the steering arm. Because he did not properly secure the steering linkage, the nose landing gear was not aligned with the runway during the landing.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.