- Date
- December 19, 1990, 18:45 local (23:45 UTC)
- Place
- Sanford, FL
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N3062HPiper PA-44-180
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report March 12, 1993
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19901219057219I
- Case key
- 32767
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the incident.
On this page
Probable cause
Collapse of the nose landing gear during the landing roll due to inadequate nose gear assembly and failure of the nose landing gear drag link bolt.
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Analysis
During the landing roll, the nose landing gear collapsed. Exam of the nose landing gear revealed that the drag link bolt (AN4- 27) which connects the upper and lower drag link assemblies was worn & failed as a result. According to the illustrated parts catalog revised November 1982 & subsequent revisions, a NAS464P4- 27 bolt part number 402 940, is specified. The change was reportedly due to a production change. On 7/29/86, Piper acft issued a service letter advising owners of specified PA-44-180 acft of a modification of the nose landing gear which includes in part, replacement of the drag link assembly bolt with the nas bolt.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N3062H
- Reported as
- Piper PA-44-180
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 44-7995165
- Airframe hours
- 2,867
- Engine
- Lycoming O-360-E1A6D, 180 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Operator
- Comair Aviation Academy
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · December 14, 1990 · 32 hours before
- Airport
- SFB · Sanford Regional, runway 36, 6,002 × 150 ft, asphalt
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
- 25
- Certificates
- Commercial, Flight instructor
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Flight hours
- 1,097 total · 70 in this make and model
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Calm
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 77 °F, dew point 66 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- SFB
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.
Other investigations on N3062H · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.