# NTSB ERA16LA234: Piper PA28, N3024C, Poughkeepsie, NY, June 24, 2016 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: June 24, 2016, 11:30 local (15:30 UTC) - Place: Poughkeepsie, NY - Coordinates: 41.626667, -73.884162 (estimated) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=41.6267&lon=-73.8842&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Taxi](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/250) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Defining event: [Taxi-from runway: Landing gear collapse](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/094) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 2 uninjured - Status: Completed, report April 20, 2020 - Report: Approved by Office Director - NTSB office: Eastern Region Aviation - Parties: FAA - NTSB case key (mKey): 93499 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=ERA16LA234 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/93499/pdf - NTSB docket: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=93499 - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ERA16LA234 ## Probable cause An overstress failure of the left main landing gear attachment bolts, which resulted in the left main landing gear collapse. ## Findings NTSB's coded findings; those marked are part of the probable cause. - [Wing structure: landing gear (fitting on wing)](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01035743): Aircraft › Aircraft structures · Failure (probable cause); cases with it: [Piper PA-28-181, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01035743/cases.md?model=7102807), [All aircraft, 3 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01035743/cases.md) ## Sequence of events The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event best describes what happened. - [Taxi-from runway: Landing gear collapse](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/094) (defining event); cases with it: [Piper PA-28-181, 11 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/094/sequence.md?model=7102807), [All aircraft, 1,787 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/094/sequence.md) ## Analysis The flight instructor stated that, while taxiing after landing from the instructional flight, the airplane started to veer to the left, and he heard a "metallic sound." Shortly after, the left main landing gear collapsed, and the airplane came to a stop. A postaccident examination of the airplane revealed that the left main landing gear strut separated from the wing attachment; the bolts attaching the landing gear to the spar were sheared in the vicinity of the bolt threads. The fracture features of the bolts displayed signatures of overstress failure. It could not be determined whether the overstress fracture of the bolts occurred during the accident flight or during a previous unreported event. ## Factual narrative On June 24, 2016, at 1130 eastern daylight time, a Piper PA-28-181, N3024C, was substantially damaged while taxing at the Dutchess County Airport (POU), Poughkeepsie, New York. The flight instructor and student pilot were not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed. The airplane was registered to and operated by West Field Flight Academy, in accordance with 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as an instructional flight.According to the flight instructor, after landing on runway 6, he contacted the POU air traffic control tower and requested to taxi on the crossing runway to the ramp. They taxied the airplane about 3,000 ft down the runway and just prior to the turn, the airplane started to veer to the left. The flight instructor heard a "metallic sound" left main landing gear collapsed bringing the airplane to a stop. The flight instructor informed the tower controller, performed an engine shut down, and exited the airplane with the student pilot. Examination of the airplane by a Federal Aviation Administration inspector revealed that the left main landing gear strut separated from the wing spar attachment. Further examination revealed the wing spar bent upward. Examination of the landing gear strut revealed that the attaching bolts had sheared in the vicinity of the threads. The fracture features of the bolts displayed signatures consistent with overstress failure. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N3024C](https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N3024C), registered now, S/N 28-7990149, built 1978 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: PIPER PA28 (181) - Registry model: [Piper PA-28-181](https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa-28-181) (registry code 7102807) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Lycoming O&VO-360 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-o-vo-360-series) (registry code 41514, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 28-7990149 - Year built: 1978 - Airframe hours: 7212.5 - Engines: LYCOMING O-360-A4M 180 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Instructional, Part 91 - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal - Last inspection: Annual, April 12, 2016, 98 hours before - Departed: POU, Poughkeepsie, NY - Destination: POU, Poughkeepsie, NY - Airport: POU, Dutchess County Airport, runway 33, 2,744 × 100 ft, asphalt - Equipment: Auto-pilot ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Flight instructor; age 60; injuries: none; airline transport, flight instructor; airplane ratings: multi-engine land, single-engine land; instrument ratings: airplane; medical: class 2, without waivers/limitations; last flight review June 9, 2015; seat: right; restraint: 3-point; flight hours: 7,862 total, 3,500 in this make and model, 7,500 as pilot in command, 119 in the last 90 days, 42 in the last 30 days, 1 in the last 24 hours - Student pilot; age 54; injuries: none; student; medical: class 3, without waivers/limitations; seat: left; restraint: 3-point; flight hours: 23 total, 19 in this make and model, 23 in the last 90 days ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: calm - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: none - Temperature: 82 °F, dew point 48 °F - Altimeter: 30.05 inHg - Observed at: POU ## 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 20160624009839A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20160624009839A), Jun 24, 2016: Piper PA-28-181, Poughkeepsie, NY, Substantial damage. On 6/24/2016 at 1138 EDT, N3024C, a Piper PA-28-181, s/n 28-7990149, registered to cash management consulting LLC, experienced a collapsed left main landing… ## Docket (3 files) The files NTSB released with the investigation on November 4, 2019, on NTSB's docket system: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=93499. 4.5 MB in all. - Pilot/Operator Aircraft Accident Report, NTSB Form 6120.1 (item 1, .PDF, 3.6 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40477661&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Pilot%2FOperator%20Aircraft%20Accident%20Report,%20NTSB%20Form%206120.1-Master.PDF - FAA Inspector's Statement (Summary of Email Correspondence) (item 2, .PDF, 111 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40477662&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=FAA%20Inspector%27s%20Statement%20(Summary%20of%20Email%20Correspondence)-Master.PDF - Photos (item 3, .PDF, 4 photos, 804 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40477663&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Photos-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.