Analyzing Failure

On October 9, 2013, in Xenia, Ohio, a Piper PA-46-350P Malibu Mirage sustained a nosewheel failure and departed the runway after landing. There were no injuries.

Editorial Staff

Wednesday, April 22, 2015 at 12:00 AM ET

Verified

Key Takeaways:

A Piper PA-46-350P experienced a nosewheel failure and runway departure after landing due to a fatigue fracture in the engine mount's nose gear actuator feet.
This critical component was the subject of a mandatory service bulletin (SB 1103D) requiring regular inspections for cracks.
An earlier inspection, performed 81 flight hours prior, was found to be inadequately completed, failing to detect the fatigue cracks that ultimately led to the failure.

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On October 9, 2013, in Xenia, Ohio, a Piper PA-46-350P Malibu Mirage sustained a nosewheel failure and departed the runway after landing. There were no injuries.

According to the NTSB, after the pilot lowered the nosewheel to the runway, “the airplane began to pull quickly to the left. He applied right brake and pulled back on the yoke, but the airplane continued to veer off the left side of the runway. The airplane traveled about 500 feet before the nose gear collapsed back into the wheel well, and the airplane’s nose and propeller impacted the ground.”