Piper PA-23 N1460P

Summary

On 27 February 2021 at about 16:30 local time, a Piper PA-23 registered N1460P, operated by Aviation Services LLC, was involved in an accident near Oshkosh, Wisconsin, 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

27 February 2021 at 16:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Oshkosh, Wisconsin, United States

Nearest airport

Wittman Regional (OSH)

Coordinates

43.9845, -88.5569

Aircraft

Piper PA-23

Registration

N1460P

Category

Airplane

Year built

1956

Engines

2

Operator

Aviation Services LLC

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Oshkosh → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN21LA147

Nobody was injured.

The failure of the nose landing gear lower drag link for reasons that could not be determined based on available information, which resulted in the 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 instructional flight included numerous landing gear extension and retraction cycles. During the flight, the nose landing gear indication showed that the gear was in the down and locked position but then indicated that the gear was in the unsafe position. The flight instructor performed several touch-and-go landings to “lightly move” the nosewheel into the down-and-locked position. According to the flight instructor, the contact with the runway pavement was “firm enough” to indicate that the nose landing gear was down and locked. After touching down on the accident landing, the airplane began yawing to the right with an “unusual noise.” The application of left brake prevented the airplane from leaving the runway pavement; however, the nose landing gear collapsed during the rollout. The substantial airframe damage precluded functional testing of the nose landing gear. Visual examination revealed that the nose landing gear lower drag link was fractured. Metallurgical examination revealed the presence of fatigue cracking in the wrought material and a lack of fusion in the welded areas. Although postaccident examination of the actuator arm determined that it was fully extended at the time the nosegear collapsed, it is likely that the nose gear was not fully extended before landing. The lack of full extension compromised the nosewheel steering system and affected directional control during the rollout. The subsequent failure of the landing gear link resulted in the collapse of the nose gear. The extent to which the fatigue and lack of fusion had compromised the structural integrity of the link before the accident flight could not be determined from the available information.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.