- Date
- June 22, 2012, 17:40 local (22:40 UTC)
- Place
- Metropolis, IL
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N43840Piper PA-46-310P
- Defining event
- Landing-landing roll: Landing gear collapse
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report November 26, 2012
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Central Region
- Parties
- FAA Flight Standards District Office
- FAA report
- 20120622014349A
- Case key
- 84364
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
Landing gear collapse for reasons that could not be determined because testing could not replicate the problem.
Findings · 2
NTSB’s coded findings. Those marked are part of the probable cause; the rest are factors or other findings. Under each, the cases with the same finding.
Sequence of events
The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event is the one that best describes the accident. Under each, the cases with the same event anywhere in their sequence.
Analysis
The pilot stated that he lowered the landing gear and observed three green annunciator lights. Shortly after touching down, the nose gear collapsed. The airplane began drifting to the left and the right main gear collapsed, followed by the collapse of the left main gear. Postaccident examination revealed the landing gear handle was in the UP position. The pilot said he may have hit the handle inadvertently when the nose gear collapsed and he was thrown forward. The hydraulic reservoir was full and there was no sign of leakage. The main gears extended when the emergency extension handle was pulled. Proper travel of the landing gear handle was noted at the selector valve.
Factual narrative
On June 22, 2012, about 1740 central daylight time, the landing gear of a Piper PA-46-310P, N43840, collapsed on landing at Metropolis Municipal Airport (KM30), Metropolis, Illinois. The pilot, the sole occupant on board, was not injured. The airplane was substantially damaged. The airplane was registered to and operated by Ware Resources, LLC, Martinsville, Illinois, under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 91 as a business flight. Visual meteorological conditions (VMC) prevailed at the time of the accident, and no flight plan had been filed. The cross-country flight originated from Nashville (KBNA), Tennessee. The pilot reported lowering the landing gear and observing three green annunciator lights. The airplane touched down on runway 36. Shortly thereafter, the nose gear collapsed. The airplane began drifting to the left and the right main gear collapsed, followed by the collapse of the left main gear. Post-accident examination revealed firewall damage and a compromised pressure vessel. The fixed base operator at Metropolis Municipal Airport recovered the airplane and examined the landing gear. They reported the landing gear handle was in the UP position (the pilot said he may have hit the handle inadvertently when the nose gear collapsed and he was thrown forward). The hydraulic reservoir was full and no sign of leakage. The airplane was placed on jacks. When the emergency extension handle was pulled, the main gear came down. The left main gear locked and the right main gear locked after a slight push. After the nose gear doors were removed, the nose gear came down and locked. The landing gear was not cycled due nose gear steering damage. The landing gear selector handle was moved to the DOWN position and proper travel at the selector valve was noted.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N43840
- Reported as
- Piper PA-46-310P
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 46-8508029
- Engine
- Continental TSIO-520-BE, 310 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Business · Part 91
- Operator
- Ware Resources, LLC
- Registered owner
- Ware Resources, LLC
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Departed
- KBNA · Nashville, TN
- Destination
- KM30 · Metropolis, IL
- Airport
- KM30 · Metropolis Municipal, runway 36, 4,000 × 75 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
- Injuries
- None
- Seat
- Left
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
Docket · 4
The files NTSB released with the investigation on September 14, 2012, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 342 KB in all.
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.