Piper PA24 N6339P

Summary

On 7 March 2024 at about 22:24 local time, a Piper PA24 registered N6339P, operated by Aviation Adventures, was involved in an accident near Stafford, Virginia, 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

7 March 2024 at 22:24

Classification

Accident

Location

Stafford, Virginia, United States

Nearest airport

Stafford Rgnl (RMN)

Coordinates

38.3981, -77.4555

Aircraft

Piper PA24

Registration

N6339P

Category

Airplane

Year built

1959

Engines

1

Operator

Aviation Adventures

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Tangier → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA24LA138

Nobody was injured.

An overloading of the landing gear push/pull cable rod ends, which resulted in the landing gear being seized in an intermediate position during the subsequent landing.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot reported that while landing at his initial destination, the right main landing gear partially collapsed. He stated that the initial touchdown was normal, and not hard or side loaded. Once the right main gear partially collapsed, the pilot aborted the landing and attempted to retract the landing gear; however, it would not retract, and the landing gear circuit breaker tripped. The pilot contacted a mechanic and attempted to troubleshoot the problem during the pilot’s flight back to his home airport. During the troubleshooting, the pilot attempted to utilize the manual landing gear extension without success. The pilot performed multiple low passes for the mechanic to visually observe the landing gear. The mechanic reported that the left main landing gear appeared to be almost fully extended; however, the right main and nose gear were in a mid-transit position. After multiple failed attempts to correct the landing gear problem in the air, the pilot landed at his home airport. During the landing, the landing gear fully collapsed resulting in substantial damage to the fuselage and the wing spar. Examination of the landing gear by the mechanic revealed that the left and right main landing gear push tubes were bent, consistent with the push rods being overloaded. An operational test of the landing gear motor revealed that it operated normally.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.