# NTSB CEN14LA138: Piper PA 46-350P, N350AR, Marion, IA, February 11, 2014 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: February 11, 2014, 16:00 local (22:00 UTC) - Place: Marion, IA - Coordinates: 42.029392, -91.580513 (estimated) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=42.0294&lon=-91.5805&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Landing](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/550) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Defining event: [Landing-flare/touchdown: Loss of control on ground](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/230) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 2 uninjured - Status: Completed, report November 3, 2014 - Report: Approved by Office Director - NTSB office: Central Region - Parties: Federal Aviation Adminstration; DSM FSDO - NTSB case key (mKey): 88797 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=CEN14LA138 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/88797/pdf - NTSB docket: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=88797 - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN14LA138 ## Probable cause The pilot’s failure to attain a touchdown on the runway’s hard surface, which resulted in a loss of directional control. ## Findings NTSB's coded findings; those marked are part of the probable cause. - [Performance/control parameters: directional control](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01062020): Aircraft › Aircraft oper/perf/capability · Not attained/maintained (probable cause); cases with it: [Piper PA 46-350P, 11 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01062020/cases.md?model=7104620), [All aircraft, 3,958 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01062020/cases.md) - [Use of equip/info: aircraft control](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02063040): Personnel issues › Task performance · Pilot (probable cause); cases with it: [Piper PA 46-350P, 40 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02063040/cases.md?model=7104620), [All aircraft, 9,295 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02063040/cases.md) ## Sequence of events The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event best describes what happened. - [Landing-flare/touchdown: Loss of control on ground](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/230) (defining event); cases with it: [Piper PA 46-350P, 14 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/230/sequence.md?model=7104620), [All aircraft, 4,585 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/230/sequence.md) - [Landing-landing roll: Collision with terr/obj (non-CFIT) ](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/470); cases with it: [Piper PA 46-350P, 40 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/470/sequence.md?model=7104620), [All aircraft, 10,189 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/470/sequence.md) ## Analysis The pilot stated that, after the nosewheel touched down during landing, he applied the right rudder and brake but that he was unable to keep the airplane from veering left into a 2-foot-high snow bank several feet off the runway. Runway witness marks showed that the right landing gear wheel touched down in snow and gravel off the right side of the runway's hard surface and that the left landing gear wheel touched down on the runway's hard surface. Both wheels then skidded left and off the runway. Examinations revealed no mechanical anomalies that would have precluded normal operation. ## Factual narrative On February 10, 2014, at 1630 central standard time, a Piper PA 46-350P, N350AR, veered off the runway and impacted a snow bank during landing at Marion Airport (C17), Marion, Iowa. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the firewall. The pilot and passenger were uninjured. The airplane was registered to Adobe Construction Inc. and operated by the pilot under 14 CFR Part 91. The flight was operating on an instrument rules flight plan. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The flight originated from Page Field Airport (FMY), Fort Myers, Florida and was destined to C17. The pilot stated that he flew a 3-mile final visual approach to runway 35 (3,775 x 100 feet, asphalt/turf), which was "mostly fry with patchy compacted snow." When the nose wheel touched down during landing, there was a "violent pulling" to the left. The pilot applied right rudder/right brake but was unable to keep the airplane from veering left and into a 2-foot high snow bank that was located several feet off the runway. Photos of runway 35 showed that a mark consistent with a path made by a landing gear wheel traversed off the right side of the runway's asphalt surface and through a snow-covered gravel edge. This mark within the snow was paralleled by a skid mark on the asphalt surface. Both marks then curved as skid marks off the left side of the runway and into a snow bank where the airplane rested with a collapsed nose wheel landing gear. Fractured pieces from the nose landing gear actuator attachment area of the engine mount were optically examined in the National Transportation Safety Board Materials Laboratory. The examinations revealed features and deformation pattern on the multiple fractures that were consistent with overstress separations. No indications of pre-existing cracking or corrosion were observed. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N350AR](https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N350AR), registered now, S/N 4622109, built 1990 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: PIPER PA 46-350P - Registry model: [Piper PA 46-350P](https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa-46-350p) (registry code 7104620) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Lycoming TI0-540 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-ti0-540-series) (registry code 41533, turbo-prop) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 4622109 - Year built: 1990 - Airframe hours: 3575 - Engines: Lycoming TIO-540-AE2A 350 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Personal, Part 91 - Operator: Pilot - Registered owner: Abode Construction, Inc. - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal - Last inspection: Annual, July 11, 2013 - Departed: FMY, Fort Meyers, FL - Destination: C17, Marion, IA - Flight plan: IFR - Airport: C17, Marion Airport, runway 35, 3,775 × 100 ft, grass/turf - Equipment: Stall warning system, Auto-pilot ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 54; injuries: none; private; airplane ratings: single-engine land; instrument ratings: airplane; medical: class 3, with waivers/limitations; last flight review February 26, 2012; seat: left; restraint: 3-point; flight hours: 2,193 total, 1,200 in this make and model, 2,153 as pilot in command ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Dusk - Wind: 280° at 9 knots - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: none - Temperature: -0 °F, dew point -9 °F - Altimeter: 30.43 inHg - Observed at: CID, 12 nm away ## Docket (3 files) The files NTSB released with the investigation on August 7, 2014, on NTSB's docket system: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=88797. 7.3 MB in all. - Pilot/Operator Aircraft Accident Report, NTSB Form 6120.1 (item 1, .PDF, 2.8 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40414792&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Pilot%2FOperator%20Aircraft%20Accident%20Report,%20NTSB%20Form%206120.1-Redacted.PDF - Photo 1. Runway (Photo Courtesy of FAA) (item 2, .PDF, 66 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40414793&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Photo%201.%20Runway%20(Photo%20Courtesy%20of%20FAA)-Master.PDF - Photo 2. Nosewheel Structure (Photo Courtesy of Beegles Aircraft Service) (item 3, .PDF, 4.5 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40414794&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Photo%202.%20Nosewheel%20Structure%20(Photo%20Courtesy%20of%20Beegles%20Aircraft%20Service)-Master.PDF From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.