Accident Overview
On April 11, 2014, at approximately 1607 central daylight time, a Piper Mirage PA-46-350P, registration N1972M, experienced a landing gear collapse following a loss of directional control on landing at DuPage County Airport (DPA) in West Chicago, Illinois. The commercial pilot and passenger were not injured. The aircraft, registered to General Leasing of Michigan LLC and operated by the pilot/owner as a 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 business flight, sustained substantial damage to the firewall and wings. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and the flight operated on an instrument flight rules flight plan. The flight originated from DuPont-Lapeer Airport (D95) in Lapeer, Michigan, about 1430.
Pilot Account
The pilot reported that he received a gear-down-and-locked indication when he lowered the landing gear and during the approach. The landing was smooth. As the nose gear touched down, the airplane "yanked severely to the left." Despite attempts to maintain control, the airplane traveled into the grass off the left side of the runway. The right wing contacted an airport sign, and the landing gear collapsed.
Examination Findings
A postaccident examination revealed that the nose gear actuator attachment was fractured in two places. The fracture surfaces and deformation pattern were indicative of overstress separations at both locations. No preexisting cracking was noted. The nose gear position switch is located on the nose gear actuator. During retraction, the steering linkage separates from the gear so that rudder pedal movement does not affect nose gear position. The nose gear is designed to rotate 90 degrees to stow in the retracted position. The nose gear actuator is bolted to the lower aft engine mount, which is constructed of welded tubes. The actuator extends from the engine mount and attaches to the nose landing gear.
Service Bulletin and Recommendations
Piper Aircraft Service Bulletin 1103D, dated February 2, 2011, was current at the time of the accident. The service bulletin addressed engine mount inspection intervals for PA-46-310P, PA-46-350P, and PA-46-350T airplanes as a result of several accidents and incidents where cracks developed on the engine mount in the area of the nose gear actuator attachment. For the accident airplane, the bulletin required the first engine mount inspection at 740 hours of time in service, and thereafter at intervals not exceeding 100 hours. The accident airplane had 550 hours of time in service at the time of the accident, 190 hours below the initial inspection requirement.
On June 5, 2014, after the accident, Piper Aircraft updated the service bulletin, reducing the initial inspection time to 200 hours of time in service, with subsequent inspections at intervals not exceeding 100 hours. The bulletin also stated that Piper Aircraft had redesigned the engine mount; if the new mount was installed, the inspections could be eliminated.
On April 8, 2010, the National Transportation Safety Board issued Safety Recommendations A-10-44 and -45, suggesting that the Federal Aviation Administration require repetitive inspections for fatigue cracks on all PA-46-310 and -350P airplanes and require Piper Aircraft to redesign the engine mounts so they would not be susceptible to fatigue cracking.