- Date
- December 1, 2021, 14:50 local (20:50 UTC)
- Place
- Cassville, MO
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N444DTPiper PA-46-310P
- Defining event
- Landing: Runway excursion
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Investigation class
- Class 4 - Basic report with no Prelim publish
- NTSB office
- Central Region
- Parties
- Federal Aviation Administration
- FAA report
- 20211201020169A
- Case key
- 104360
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 failure to reinstall the nose landing gear linkage prior to the flight which resulted in a loss of directional control during landing.
Findings · 4
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 reported that during landing following a local flight, the airplane oscillated left and right as he attempted to maintain directional control on the ground. The airplane departed the left side of the runway and impacted in a ravine. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the right wing spar. The pilot reported that before the flight he had reinstalled the nose landing gear steering arm but did not properly secure the steering linkage to the steering arm. Because he did not properly secure the steering linkage, the nose landing gear was not aligned with the runway during the landing.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N444DT
- Reported as
- Piper PA-46-310P
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 4608008
- Built
- 1986
- Airframe hours
- 5,034
- Engine
- Continental Motors TSIO-550C-14B, 310 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Nakatsu Aviation LLC
- Registered owner
- Nakatsu Aviation LLC
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · July 1, 2021
- Departed
- ASG · Springdale, AR
- Destination
- Same as departure
- Airport
- 94K · Cassville Muni, runway 09/27, 3,599 × 60 ft, asphalt
- Equipment
- Electronic multifunction display, Auto-pilot, ADS-B, Stall warning system, Electronic primary flight display
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
- 55
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 3, With waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- September 5, 2021
- Seat
- Left
- Restraint
- 3-point
- Flight hours
- 1,594.7 total · 1,110 in this make and model · 1,551.7 as pilot in command · 61 in the last 90 days · 6.5 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 230° at 8 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 64 °F, dew point 39 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- KHFJ, 13 nm away
- METAR
- KHFJ 012115Z AUTO 23008KT 10SM CLR 18/04 A3000 RMK AO2
Docket · 2
The files NTSB released with the investigation on January 5, 2022, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 7.4 MB 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.