Accident Details
As the airplane touched down on the runway, it veered "dead left," slid off the runway, and impacted a snow pile. After landing, the pilot observed that the runway was approximately 85 percent covered with ice, with thicknesses ranging from 1/4 to 1 inch.
Examination Findings
Post-accident examination of the airplane revealed an overstress fracture of the right foot of the engine mount and the nose gear actuator lug. A portion of the fracture area contained signatures indicative of a preexisting fatigue crack. The fatigue region was located near, but not directly adjacent to, the toe of a weld portion of the foot—a component subject to a Piper Service Bulletin.
The Service Bulletin attributed cracks on the engine mount in the area of the nose gear actuator attach feet to "excessive loads, possibly through hard landings, rough field operations, excessive speed turns and/or improper towing of the aircraft." The bulletin required operators to inspect the engine mounts for cracks after every 100 hours of flight time, until the engine mount was replaced with a newer model that incorporated a one-piece foot at the nose gear actuator attach point.
Service Bulletin Compliance
Examination of the aircraft logbooks revealed that the Service Bulletin was complied with in April 2002, with no cracks observed at that time.