# Incident 19960206010029I: Piper PA46310P, Lakes Wales, FL, February 6, 1996

- Type: FAA incident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: February 6, 1996, 20:30 local time
- Place: Lakes Wales, FL
- Airport: Chalet Suzanne Air Strip Airport
- Damage: Minor damage
- Phase of flight: Takeoff Ground Roll
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 27.9538° N, 81.6014° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs at CHALET SUZANNE AIR STRIP (X25), within about a mile (OpenAirDocs)
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=27.9538&lon=-81.6014&mi=10
- Aircraft: N701TF (not matched to a registry record)
- Reported make and model: PIPER PA46310P
- People aboard: 2
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Pilot flight hours: 2,198 total, 464 in this make and model, 156 in the last 90 days
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19960206010029I

## Narrative

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

NARRATIVE: THE ACFT NOSE GEAR COLLAPSED AT THE BEGINNING OF TAKEOFF ROLL, AFTER THE ACFT HAD ROLLED ABOUT 15 FEET. (THE PIC REPORTEDLY LANDED ON THE 2,450 FT TURF RWY A FEW HOURS EARLIER IN THE EVENING, TO HAVE DINNER AT A RESTAURANT LOCATED AT THE AIRPORT). EXAMINATION OF THE AIRCRAFT REVEALED THAT THE NOSE GEAR ACTUATOR ROD-END (PIPER PART # 452 853) HAD FRACTURED AND BROKEN, ALLOWING THE NOSE GEAR TO COLLAPSE. VISUAL INSPECTION OF THE ROD END AND FRACTURE SURFACES REVEALED FEATURES TYPICAL OF BENDING OVERLOAD AND INSTANTANEOUS DUCTILE FAILURE (DULL, FIBROUS FRACTURE TEXTURE; SHEAR LIP; NECKING). THE ROD END HAD BENT APPROXIMATELY 10 DEGREES BEFORE FAILING. INSPECTION OF THE ACTUATOR-TO-FUSELAGE ATTACH BOLT (PN 401 508) REVEALED THAT IT WAS DEFORMED FROM SHEAR LOADING BETWEEN THE ACTUATOR AND THE FUSELAGE ATTACH POINT. (THE LONGITUDINAL AXIS OF THE BOLT WHEN INSTALLED IS ORIENTED ALONG THE ACFT LATERAL AXIS, INDICATING THAT THE SHEAR LOADING RESULTED FROM AFT-LOADING OF THE ACTUATOR WHILE THE GEAR WAS EXTENDED). THE INVESTIGATION DID NOT REVEAL ANY EVIDENCE THAT THE FAILED ROD-END WAS AN UNAPPROVED PART. EXAMINATION OF ACFT RECORDS REVEALED THAT THE ROD-END WAS INSTALLED IN THE ACFT ON 6/2/95. THE TIME IN SERVICE SINCE INSTALLATION WAS CALCULATED TO BE 249.1 HOURS. TELECON WITH AFS-643 (SAFETY DATA ANALYSIS SECTION) REVEALED NO RECORDS OF PREVIOUS FAILURES INVOLVING ROD END P/N 452 853. MALFUNCTION/DEFECT REPORT OBTAINED FROM THE MECHANIC THAT IS REPAIRING THE ACFT. PILOT INFORMATION FOR FAA FORM 8020-5 (INCIDENT REPORT) OBTAINED FROM INSURANCE COMPANY INVESTIGATOR (REPEATED ATTEMPTS TO CONTACT THE PIC BY PHONE WERE UNSUCCESSFUL).

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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