Incident Overview
On January 28, 2014, at 1245 eastern standard time, a Piper PA-34-200, registration N16389, sustained a nose landing gear collapse during the landing roll at Palm Beach International Airport (KPBI), West Palm Beach, Florida. The aircraft, manufactured in 1973 and equipped with two Lycoming IO-360 series engines, was operated by a private owner under Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 for a personal flight. The flight originated from Marsh Harbour Airport (MYAM), Marsh Harbour, Bahamas, around 1130. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and a defense visual flight rules flight plan was filed.
Sequence of Events
During the approach, the pilot observed that the nose landing gear indication light was not illuminated. He aborted the landing and requested a flyby of the air traffic control tower to visually check the gear position. An air traffic controller confirmed that the landing gear appeared to be down. The airplane was subsequently cleared to land. However, during the landing roll, the nose landing gear collapsed, and the aircraft came to rest on the runway. The pilot and passenger were not injured and egressed without incident.
Postaccident Examination
A postaccident examination of the airplane revealed substantial damage to the fuselage, including buckled skin on both sides and crush damage to the nose section. The tachometer indicated 6617.32 hours. A Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector examined the nose landing gear and found a hydraulic leak above the nose landing gear actuator. Additionally, the upper and lower nose landing gear drag links were not secured in accordance with the maintenance manual. The inspector noted that lubrication and wear measurements required by the applicable service bulletin (SB 1123) and airworthiness directive (AD 2005-13-16) had not been accomplished for some time. The nose landing gear microswitch appeared to have been recently replaced, but this replacement was not recorded in the airplane maintenance logbooks.
Maintenance History
According to FAA records, the most recent annual inspection was performed on January 20, 2012, at which time the left tachometer read 6383.0 hours and the right tachometer read 6359.0 hours. The FAA inspector interviewed the mechanic who had performed the last two annual inspections; the mechanic stated he had not seen the aircraft for two years and had been unsuccessful in contacting the pilot.
Relevant Directives
Piper issued a mandatory service bulletin (SB 1123) beginning in November 2004, with revisions A and B, introducing revised inspection requirements and design modifications for the nose gear. The bulletin required inspections at the next scheduled maintenance event (not exceeding 50 hours) and thereafter every 100 hours, including checks of the nose landing gear actuator mounting bracket for cracks and loose rivets, as well as lubrication every 50 hours. The FAA issued Airworthiness Directive (AD) 2005-13-16 on August 8, 2005, to detect and prevent failure in nose landing gear components due to inadequate maintenance or lack of lubricant. The AD was applicable to the accident airplane and could be complied with by inspecting the nose landing gear every 100 hours per SB 1123B. Review of the maintenance logs indicated that the AD had originally been complied with, and the most recent annual inspection entry stated that AD 2005-16-14 was complied with and "no defects noted."
Pilot Information
The pilot held a private pilot certificate for airplane single-engine and multiengine land, as well as a third-class medical certificate issued on August 13, 2014. Despite multiple attempts, the pilot did not return phone calls or submit the required Pilot/Operator Aircraft Accident Report (NTSB Form 6120.1).