Incident Details
On August 16, 2009, at 1130 eastern daylight time, a Piper PA-46-350P (Malibu Mirage), registration N548C, experienced a nose landing gear collapse during landing at Orlando-Sanford International Airport in Orlando, Florida. The pilot and passenger were not injured, and the airplane sustained substantial damage. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed. The flight was operated by a private individual under 14 CFR Part 91 as a personal flight.
According to the pilot, he performed a visual approach to runway 9 left with wind from 140 degrees at 10 knots. After receiving clearance from the airport traffic controller, he confirmed three green lights indicating the landing gear was down and locked. The main wheels touched down at an estimated 85 knots with full flaps extended. As the nose wheel contacted the runway, the nose veered left without warning. The airplane swerved left off the runway onto the grass, where the propeller struck the ground before the airplane stopped. The pilot shut down the engine and secured the airplane before exiting with the passenger.
Examination Findings
Post-recovery examination revealed that the right side welded section on the engine mount, where the nose gear actuator attaches, had separated. The component was removed and retained by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) for analysis. NTSB materials laboratory examination identified a fatigue crack emanating from multiple origins at the exterior of the joint where the attachment foot was welded to the support tube.
At the time of the accident, the airplane was 8 years old and had accumulated 711 flight hours with 878 cycles since new.
Aircraft Information
The accident airplane was a Piper PA-46-350P, Malibu Mirage, serial number 4636322, manufactured in 2001, and issued a Standard Airworthiness Certificate in the Normal Category. It was powered by a Textron Lycoming TIO-540-AE2A 350-horsepower engine. The airplane was maintained under the Piper Aircraft Inc. Piper Malibu Maintenance Program. Its last annual inspection was performed on February 16, 2009, at 675 total hours, and the last unscheduled maintenance on July 27, 2009, at 697 total hours.
Maintenance History
Piper Aircraft's maintenance inspection for the PA-46-350P includes a 100-hour interval inspection (item 40) that requires inspecting the engine mount for cracks, corrosion, and loose mounting bolts, including a visual and liquid penetrant inspection of weld areas. However, this specific crack inspection was not applicable to the accident airplane by serial number (4636322) because it was manufactured with a newly designed motor mount. The manufacturer had issued service bulletins for older design motor mounts to address cracking concerns, but the new design motor mount did not have special inspection guidelines.
Previous Incidents
The NTSB had investigated two prior accidents involving failure of the nose gear actuator attach foot on newly designed Piper PA-46-350P motor mounts, as well as one case where maintenance discovered a failure of the attach foot. Those investigations also found fatigue cracks at the weld joints of the nose gear actuator attachment foot support tube locations.