# Incident 19940116004009I: Piper PA31310, Fort Wayne, IN, January 16, 1994

- Type: FAA incident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: January 16, 1994, 12:22 local time
- Place: Fort Wayne, IN
- Airport: Fort Wayne Municipal - Baer Field
- Damage: Minor damage
- Phase of flight: Roll-Out (Fixed Wing)
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 41.1306° N, 85.1289° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs: center of Fort Wayne, IN, within about 6 miles (OpenAirDocs)
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=41.1306&lon=-85.1289&mi=10
- Aircraft: N310PG, registered now (https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N310PG) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Piper PA-31-310 (registry code 7103102, https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa-31-310) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Lycoming TI0-540 series (registry code 41533, https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-ti0-540-series) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: PIPER PA31310
- People aboard: 2
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Pilot flight hours: 3,620 total, 45 in the last 90 days
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19940116004009I

## Narrative

As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^.

NARRATIVE: A MALFUNCTION OR DEFECT REPORT HAS BEEN FILED. ON JANUARY 16, 1994 AT APPROXIMATELY 1222 EST A PIPER PA-31 NAVAJO WAS BEING OPERATED BY MR. LOWELL D. TEMPLE WHO HAD JUST PURCHASED THE AIRCRAFT A FEW DAYS PRIOR. MR. TEMPLE WAS RECEIVING FLIGHT INSTRUCTION FROM MR. JULIAN F. FRANKE, MR. TEMPLE AND MR. FRANKE REPORTED THAT THE APPROACH TO RUNWAY 23 WAS NORMAL UNTIL AROUND 80 KNOTS WHEN THE NOSE WHEEL CONTACTED THE RUNWAY. THE AIRCRAFT'S NOSE DROPPED SLIGHTLY AND STARTED SLIDING DOWN THE RUNWAY ON THE NOSE GEAR FORKS. THE NOSE WHEEL HAD COMPLETELY COME OFF OF THE NOSE GEAR ASSEMBLY AND WAS FOUND ON THE RUNWAY BEHIND THE AIRPLANE. MAINTENANCE INSPECTION REVEALED THAT THIS AIRCRAFT WAS EQUIPPED WITH THE ORIGINAL (NARROW) TURNING RADIUS ASSEMBLY AND THAT THE STEERING HORN ATTACH BOLTS HAD BEEN SHEARED. IT WOULD APPEAR THE NOSE GEAR HAD BEEN TURNED BEYOND ITS NORMAL LIMITS WHICH WILL CRACK THE STEERING ASSEMBLY AND APPARENTLY HAD. WHEN THIS OCCURS, THE NOSE WHEEL WILL NOT BE HELD IN THE CENTERED POSITION WHEN THE LANDING GEAR IS LOWERED AND RUNWAY CONTACT MADE. THE CREW REPORTED NO INJURIES ON THIS FLIGHT WHICH WAS CONDUCTED UNDER 14 CFR 91. MR. TEMPLE IS HOLDER OF A PRIVATE PILOT CERTIFICATE WITH A MULTIENGINE RATING. THE LOC AL FLIGHT, FOR THE PURPOSE OF FLIGHT INSTRUCTION, IN THE PATTERN ORIGINATED FROM FORT WAYNE, INDIANA (FWA) ON JANUARY 16, 1994. AN M OR D HAS BEEN FILED.

From the FAA Accident/Incident Data System. Reports are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. For accidents, the NTSB's own investigation is the fuller record.

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