History of Flight
On May 19, 2013, at approximately 1245 mountain standard time, a Piper PA32R-301T (registration N8197W) experienced a nose landing gear collapse during landing at Stellar Airpark in Chandler, Arizona. The pilot, who was also the owner, operated the flight under Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. The private pilot and three passengers were not injured. The airplane sustained substantial damage to an aileron.
The flight was a cross-country personal trip that departed Brown Field in San Diego, California, with a planned destination of Williams Gateway Airport in Mesa, Arizona. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed.
Inflight Electrical Failure
The pilot reported that during the en route portion of the flight, all systems appeared to function normally, and the amp meter indicated the alternator was charging. Approximately 1 hour and 10 minutes into the flight, the amp meter dropped to zero. A few minutes later, static was heard in the radios. The pilot shut off all electrical systems to conserve battery power.
About 40 miles from Williams Gateway Airport, the pilot turned on the radio to contact the air traffic control tower, but all electrical power was depleted, and he could not establish communication. He elected to divert to Stellar Airpark, which does not have a control tower.
Landing and Gear Collapse
The pilot performed a straight-in approach to runway 35. He lowered the landing gear normally and operated the emergency landing gear extension system. The airplane touched down on the main landing gear without incident. As the nose settled, the propeller contacted the ground. The pilot raised the nose as long as possible, but once the nose contacted the ground, the nose gear collapsed, and the airplane departed the runway surface into the grass. The right wing leading edge and aileron sustained substantial damage.
Postaccident Examination
A Federal Aviation Administration inspector oversaw a postaccident examination of the airplane. The landing gear operated normally during both normal and emergency extension tests. Maintenance personnel could not duplicate a failure of the nose landing gear to extend and lock.
A check of the alternator found no field and no output voltage. The battery was charged to 12 volts but discharged to 10 volts with no load over one hour.
Landing Gear System Description
The PA-32R-301/301T is equipped with a retractable tricycle landing gear, hydraulically operated by an electrically powered reversible pump. A selector handle on the instrument panel to the left of the control quadrant is used to select gear up or down. Each landing gear is retracted and extended by a single hydraulic cylinder attached to the drag link assembly of the nose gear and the side brace link assemblies of each main gear. Each main gear is held in the up position by hydraulic pressure; there are no uplocks. Loss of hydraulic pressure allows the gears to drop.
Emergency extension is initiated by operating a push-pull cable knob between the two pilot's seats, allowing the landing gear to free-fall. The nose gear has two springs (one inside the other) to assist in extending to the down position. Landing gear positions are indicated by three green lights above the selector lever; these lights do not operate during a total electrical failure.