- Date
- May 30, 2007, 17:10 local (21:10 UTC)
- Place
- Columbia, SC
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N87619Piper PA-32-300
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report March 31, 2008
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- Columbia FSDO
- FAA report
- 20070530012149A
- Case key
- 65896
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Probable cause
The pilot's improper landing flare, resulting in a hard landing.
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Analysis
The pilot stated that on the landing flare, he heard a "loud bang" when the nose wheel touched down. The nose of the airplane "bounced" back into the air and the tail of the airplane struck the runway. The nose then settled back to the ground and the airplane came to a stop. Examination of the airplane by an FAA inspector revealed that the nose wheel fork was broken in two parts, and the empennage was buckled. The nose landing gear wheel fork was sent to the National Transportation Safety Board's Materials Laboratory for examination. The fracture features were on slant planes with a matte gray appearance consistent with an overstress fracture. No evidence of a preexisting damage was observed. The overall deformation of both legs of the fork was consistent with side loading.
Factual narrative
On May 30, 2007 at 1710 eastern standard time, a Piper PA-32-300, N87619, registered to and operated by Ram Air Freight LLC as a 14 Code of Federal Regulation Part 135 cargo flight, had a nose gear collapse on landing roll at Columbia Metropolitan Airport, Columbia, South Carolina. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident, and an instrument flight rules flight plan was filed. The airplane sustained substantial damage. The commercial rated pilot was not injured. The flight departed Myrtle Beach International Airport, Myrtle Beach, South Carolina on May 30, 2007, at 1655.
The pilot stated that on landing flare, he heard a "loud bang" when the nose wheel touched down. The nose of the airplane "bounced" back into the air and the tail of the airplane struck the runway. The nose then settled back to the ground and the airplane came to a stop. The pilot exited the airplane and noticed that the nose wheel assembly was broken off the strut. Examination of the airplane by an FAA inspector revealed that the nose wheel fork was broken off the strut, and was in two parts. Further examination of the airplane revealed that the empennage was buckled.
The nose landing gear wheel fork was sent to the National Transportation Safety Board's Materials Laboratory for examination. The fracture features were on slant planes with a matte gray appearance, consistent with an overstress fracture. No evidence of a preexisting damage was observed. The overall deformation of both legs of the fork was consistent with side loading.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N87619
- Reported as
- Piper PA-32-300
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 32-40752
- Airframe hours
- 6,545
- Engine
- Lycoming TIO-540, 310 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Part 135
- Operator
- Ram Air Freight Inc, doing business as Ram Air Freight
- Registered owner
- Bellefonte Incorporated
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · June 1, 2006 · 26 hours before
- Departed
- MYR · Myrtle Beach, SC
- Destination
- CAE · Columbia, SC
- Flight plan
- IFR
- Airport
- CAE · Columbia Metropolitan, runway 5, 8,001 × 150 ft, asphalt
Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 44
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Without waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- May 1, 2007
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 2,200 total · 32 in this make and model · 900 as pilot in command · 80 in the last 90 days · 40 in the last 30 days · 7 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 140° at 7 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 91 °F, dew point 50 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.11 inHg
- Observed at
- KCAE
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.