# Incident 19960514019669I: Amtr TJ3, Lock Haven, PA, May 14, 1996

- Type: FAA incident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: May 14, 1996, 09:00 local time
- Place: Lock Haven, PA
- Airport: William T Piper Memorial Airport
- Damage: Minor damage
- Phase of flight: Ground Taxi, Other Airplane
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 41.1358° N, 77.4223° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs at WILLIAM T PIPER MEML (LHV), within about a mile (OpenAirDocs)
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=41.1358&lon=-77.4223&mi=10
- Aircraft: N927RB, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N927RB-2017-11-15) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Bliler Robert J TJ3 (registry code 05626UG, https://openairdocs.org/model/bliler-robert-j-tj3) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Amateur-built UNKNOWN ENG (registry code 99999, https://openairdocs.org/engine/amateur-built-unknown-eng) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: AMTR TJ3
- Reported engine: AMTRVW VW2100VOLKS
- People aboard: 1
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Pilot flight hours: 600 total, 4 in this make and model, 4 in the last 90 days
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19960514019669I

## Narrative

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

NARRATIVE: ON MAY 14, 1996, AT 09:00 HOURS, AN AMATEUR/HOMEBUILT, EXPERIMENTAL AIRCRAFT, DESIGNATED OWN DESIGN TJ3, MADE AN UNEVENTFUL LANDING ON RUNWAY 27 AT WILLIAM T. PIPER MEMORIAL AIRPORT IN LOCKHAVEN, PA. THE AIRCRAFT, BUILT AND DESIGNED BY THE PILOT, WAS BEING TEST FLOWN AT THE TIME. THE AIRCRAFT HAD ONLY 3.5 HOURS OF TIME-IN-SERVICE WHEN THE NOSE LANDING GEAR COLLAPSED DURING TAXI ON A WET, GRASSY AREA ALLOWING THE AIRCRAFT TO PITCH OVER ON IT'S NOSE. NO INJURIES WERE RECEIVED AND ONLY MINOR DAMAGE TO THE AIRCRAFT WAS NOTED. A SUBSEQUENT EVALUATION OF THE AIRCRAFT REVEALED THE NOSE LANDING GEAR LOWER TWO STRUT TUBES BUCKLED WHERE THEY ATTACH TO THE ENGINE MOUNT. THE DAMAGE INDICATED A POSSIBLE WEAK DESIGN. THE AIRCRAFT OWNER/PILOT/BUILDER CONTACTED A FORMER PIPER DER TO EVALUATE THE AIRCRAFT DESIGN. THE DER INDICATED THE NOSE LANDING GEAR WAS CARRYING TOO HIGH OF A LOAD AND REDESIGN OR CHANGE OF THE MAIN LANDING GEAR LOCATION WAS INDICATED. THE AIRCRAFT OWNER DECIDED TO REBUILD THE NOSE GEAR STRUTS USING THICKER WALL TUBING AND CHANGE THE MAIN GEAR LOCATION PER THE DER'S RECOMMENDATION. NO FURTHER ACTION IS REQUIRED. SUBMISSION OF THIS REPORT CLOSES THIS INCIDENT.

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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