- Date
- May 31, 2023, 15:45 local (19:45 UTC)
- Place
- Philadelphia, PA · PHL
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N515AMRockwell International 695
- Defining event
- Landing-landing roll: Landing gear collapse
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Investigation class
- Class 3
- NTSB office
- Eastern Region Aviation
- Parties
- FAA/FSDO
- FAA report
- 20230531007329A
- Case key
- 192481
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
Failure of the nose gear support structure for unknown reasons, which resulted in the nose landing gear collapsing during landing.
Findings · 1
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 said that after a normal touch down he felt a wobble in the nose landing gear before it collapsed. The nose landing gear was pushed back into its wheel well and the airplane slid to a stop on the forward lower fuselage, resulting in substantial damage. Postaccident examination revealed the upper drag brace pivot support structure of the nose landing gear was damaged, which most likely allowed the drag brace to rotate and the nose gear to retract/collapse. It was not determined why the support structure failed.
Factual narrative
On May 31, 2023, at 1545 eastern daylight time, a Rockwell International Corporation 695 airplane, N515AM, was involved in an accident at the Philadelphia International Airport (PHL), Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The private pilot and the passenger were not injured. The airplane was operated as a 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. According to the pilot, he made normal landing but began to feel a “wobble” in the nose landing gear before it collapsed. The nose landing gear was pushed back into its wheel well and the airplane slid to a stop on the forward lower fuselage. Postaccident examination of the airplane revealed substantial damage to the skin, stringers, and frames that required a major repair. The pressure vessel was not breached. According to the airplane type certificate holder, who performed an engineering inspection and some repairs to the airplane in preparation for it to be ferried for additional repairs, the nose landing gear upper drag brace pivot support structure was found damaged. This damage may have resulted in the drag brace rotating and the landing gear retracting/collapsing upon landing. It was not determined as to why the support structure failed.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N515AM
- Reported as
- Rockwell International 695
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 95008
- Built
- 1980
- Airframe hours
- 10,561
- Engines
- Honeywell TPE-331-10-511K, 1,000 horsepower, turbo propHoneywell TPE-331-10-511K, 1,000 horsepower, turbo prop
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Allen Myland Inc
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · October 3, 2023
- Departed
- 17N · Williamstown, NJ
- Destination
- Same as departure
- Airport
- PHL · Philadelphia Intl, runway 35, 6,500 × 150 ft, asphalt
- Equipment
- Electronic primary flight display, Electronic multifunction display, Auto-pilot, ADS-B, Stall warning system, Onboard weather
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
- 74
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, With waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- June 9, 2022
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 3,669 total · 740 in this make and model · 3,279 as pilot in command · 24 in the last 90 days · 3 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 90° at 7 knots
- Visibility
- 9 statute miles
- Temperature
- 79 °F, dew point 50 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.14 inHg
- Observed at
- KPHL, 1 nm away
- METAR
- METAR KPHL 311954Z 09007KT 9SM FEW250 26/10 A3014 RMK AO2
Docket · 3
The files NTSB released with the investigation on June 26, 2024, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 18.8 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.