Accident Overview
On April 13, 2012, at approximately 1418 eastern daylight time, a Piper PA-20, registration N7001K, operated by Jersey Devil Dusters, LLC under 14 CFR Part 91 for a personal flight, was substantially damaged when the right main landing gear collapsed during landing at Cross Keys Airport (17N) in Cross Keys, New Jersey. The certificated commercial pilot was not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan had been filed. The flight had departed from Flying W Airport (N14) in Lumberton, New Jersey, around 1400.
Pilot Report
According to the pilot, while on right downwind for runway 9, he observed the windsock indicating a quartering headwind condition on final approach. During the landing roll at slow airspeed, the right wing dropped, and the airplane subsequently came to rest.
Security Camera Observations
Security camera footage from a location near midfield, about 60 feet from the left edge of the runway, showed the airplane on final approach around 1406. As the aircraft crossed a line of trees about 700 feet before the runway threshold, the wings were observed rocking left and right, continuing intermittently and becoming more apparent over the threshold. The airplane touched down on the main landing gear about 900 feet past the threshold. After touchdown, the airplane veered slightly left, then right, then back left, but the main gear remained near the runway centerline. Another camera near the fixed base operator captured similar movement: after landing, the airplane veered right, the left wing lifted, and the aircraft turned left in a right-wing-down attitude before exiting the runway and coming to rest in a right-wing-down attitude.
Post-Accident Examination
An FAA inspector examined the airplane and found substantial damage to the right main landing gear attach point and adjacent fuselage structure. Photographs showed rubber tire marks on the runway, with a tire mark and wing paint transfer beginning left of the runway centerline and continuing onto an intersecting taxiway. The rubber mark was consistent in dimension until about 15 feet from the runway edge, where uneven tire movement was evident.
The right main landing gear assembly was sent to the NTSB Materials Laboratory. The assembly arrived with the tire partially on the rim, but the outer bead portion of the wheel was missing. Examination revealed clean, matte grey fracture surfaces on slant planes through tube walls at all fracture and partial fracture locations. The fractures were consistent with overstress separations, and no corrosion was noted.
Pilot Experience and Maintenance
The pilot reported 980.2 total flight hours, with 28 hours in the accident airplane make and model. The landing gear assembly had 1,433.1 total hours and had been inspected 24 flight hours prior to the accident. According to the pilot and FAA records, the right main landing gear attach fittings, right lower longeron, and right landing gear had repairs accomplished in 1979.