# NTSB CEN22LA257: Piper PA-32R-300, N901BW, Gettysburg, SD, June 5, 2022 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Class 3 · Limited · Final report - Date: June 5, 2022, 11:35 local (16:35 UTC) - Place: Gettysburg, SD · runway - Coordinates: 44.986611, -99.952889 (estimated) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=44.9866&lon=-99.9529&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Landing](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/550) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Defining event: [Landing: Landing gear collapse](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/094) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 2 uninjured - Status: Completed - Report: Approved by Office Director - Investigation class: Class 3 - NTSB office: Central Region - Parties: Piper Aircraft, FAA Flight Standards - NTSB case key (mKey): 105285 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=CEN22LA257 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/105285/pdf - NTSB docket: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=105285 - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN22LA257 ## Probable cause An inadvertent hard landing by the pilot. ## Findings NTSB's coded findings; those marked are part of the probable cause. - [Landing gear system: nose/tail landing gear](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01023220): Aircraft › Aircraft systems · Capability exceeded (probable cause); cases with it: [Piper PA-32R-300, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01023220/cases.md?model=7103213), [All aircraft, 185 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01023220/cases.md) ## Sequence of events The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event best describes what happened. - [Landing: Landing gear collapse](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/094) (defining event); cases with it: [Piper PA-32R-300, 8 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/094/sequence.md?model=7103213), [All aircraft, 1,787 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/094/sequence.md) ## Analysis The pilot reported that the landing was “harder than normal” but otherwise uneventful. However, about 2,000 ft down the runway during the rollout, the nose landing gear collapsed. A postaccident examination determined that the right nose landing gear attachment on the engine mount had separated in tensile and shear overstress fracture. The hard landing likely fractured the engine mount and separated the attachment foot, resulting in the nose landing gear collapse during rollout. ## Factual narrative On June 5, 2022, about 1135 central daylight time, a Piper PA-32R-300 airplane, N901BW, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Gettysburg, South Dakota. The pilot and passenger were not injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. The pilot reported that the landing was “harder than normal” but otherwise uneventful. The airplane slowed in the middle of the runway; however, about 2,000 ft down the runway, the nose landing gear collapsed. The forward end of the engine mount provided attachment of the nose landing gear trunnion assembly. Examination of the fractured engine mount revealed that the right attachment foot was separated from the mount. The outboard side of the fracture surface was smeared consistent with postseparation contact from the mating side of the fracture surface. The inboard side of the fracture was through the fillet weld joints where the upper tube and inboard tube interfaced with the attachment foot and transitioned through the tubes around to the outboard side Further examination with a scanning electron microscope revealed circular and elongated dimple features consistent with tensile and shear overstress fracture. The tube fractures had a matte grey appearance and were generally oriented at 45° to the support tube longitudinal axes, consistent with overstress fracture. The deformation of the left trunnion assembly bolt and the smearing pattern on the fractured engine mount were consistent with the overstress fracture originating at the inboard side of the attachment foot weld joint and a generally outboard and slightly downward separation. The bent trunnion assembly attachment bolts were consistent with a large load through the nose landing gear before the engine mount fracture. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N901BW](https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N901BW), registered now, S/N 32R-7680451, built 1976 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: PIPER PA-32R-300 - Registry model: [Piper PA-32R-300](https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa-32r-300) (registry code 7103213) (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: 32R-7680451 - Year built: 1976 - Airframe hours: 4492 - Engines: Lycoming IO-540-K1G5D 300 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Personal, Part 91 - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal - Last inspection: Annual, November 17, 2021, 5 hours before - Departed: FNB, Falls City, NE - Destination: 0D8, Gettysburg, SD - Airport: 0D8, Gettysburg Municipal, runway 13, 4,400 × 75 ft, asphalt - Equipment: Onboard weather, Electronic flight bag or handheld device, Auto-pilot, ADS-B, Stall warning system ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 71; injuries: none; private; airplane ratings: single-engine land; instrument ratings: airplane; medical: class 3, without waivers/limitations; last flight review August 30, 2021; seat: left; restraint: 3-point; flight hours: 1,177 total, 436 in this make and model, 6 in the last 90 days, 4 in the last 30 days ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: 120° at 14 knots - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: 3,900 ft overcast - Temperature: 64 °F, dew point 55 °F - Altimeter: 29.73 inHg - Observed at: KPIR, 39 nm away - METAR: METAR KPIR 051653Z AUTO 12014KT 10SM OVC039 18/13 A2973 ## FAA reports on this event (1) The FAA's own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date (OpenAirDocs). - [Accident 20220605021599A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20220605021599A), Jun 5, 2022: Piper PA-32R-300, Gettysburg, SD, Substantial damage. 06/05/2022 [privacy data omitted] departed fall city, nb. (Kfnb) and landed at Gettysburg ,SD. (K0D8) on landing rollout at less than 40 KTS. The nose gear… ## Docket (7 files) The files NTSB released with the investigation on August 21, 2024, on NTSB's docket system: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=105285. 2.9 MB in all. - Pilot/operator aircraft accident report, NTSB form 6120.1 (item 1, PDF, 7 pages, 237 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=17394369&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=Accident%20Report%20--%20CEN22LA257_redacted-Rel.pdf - Investigation photos (item 2, PDF, 8 pages, 816 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=17424053&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=Investigation%20Photos%20--%20CEN22LA257-Rel.pdf - NTSB materials lab examination findings (item 3, PDF, 1 page, 313 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=17394814&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=Material%20Exam%20Findings%20--%20CEN22LA257_redacted-Rel.pdf - Maintenance records -- airframe (item 4, PDF, 6 pages, 303 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=17393439&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=Maintenance%20Records%20--%20Airframe_redacted-Rel.pdf - Airplane parts catalog -- excerpt (item 5, PDF, 3 pages, 141 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=17394724&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=Piper%20IPC%20PA-32R%20(Excerpt)%20--%20Engine%20Mount-NLG%20Installation-Rel.pdf - Release of aircraft wreckage, NTSB form 6120.15 (item 6, PDF, 1 page, 838 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=17394901&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=Release%20of%20Wreckage%20--%20CEN22LA257_redacted-Rel.pdf - Statement of party representatives to NTSB investigation (item 7, PDF, 1 page, 217 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=17422592&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=Party%20Form%20--%20CEN22LA257%20(Piper)_redacted-Rel.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.