Incident Summary
On December 6, 2020, at approximately 1420 eastern standard time, a Piper PA-46-600TP aircraft, registration N282ST, experienced a runway excursion during landing at Leesburg Executive Airport (JYO) in Leesburg, Virginia. The pilot reported that the wind was straight down the runway during landing on runway 35. During the landing roll, the airplane turned left abruptly. The pilot applied significant rudder and brake inputs but was unable to correct the deviation, and the airplane departed the left side of the runway, coming to rest in grass about 12 feet from the left runway edge and approximately 2,370 feet from the approach end. The right main landing gear (MLG) tire deflated after locking and skidding. The pilot was not injured, and the aircraft sustained minor damage, including impact damage to the left wingtip and slight buckling of upper wing skin.
Aircraft and Pilot Information
The Piper PA-46-600TP M600 is a single-engine turbine, propeller-driven, low-wing airplane certified in June 2016. The incident aircraft had serial number 4698111 and had accumulated 91 total flight hours at the time. The pilot reported 4,003 total flight hours, with 67 hours in the same make and model.
Steering Horn Assembly Details
The incident aircraft was equipped with a steering horn assembly (part number 85154-012), common on M600 airplanes with serial numbers 4698001 to 4698135. This assembly had known alignment issues due to tolerance stack-up variances, particularly on aircraft with serial numbers above 4698102. On January 17, 2020, the steering horn was removed and its pads resurfaced per manufacturing drawings; it was reinstalled at the Piper factory service center after the aircraft had accrued 5 hours. Post-incident examination of the steering horn by the manufacturer revealed that the left roller hole was 0.001 inch aft of its maximum tolerance, the right roller hole was 0.001 inch closer laterally to the center than tolerance, and both left and right steering pads were closer to the center than specified (left: 0.030 inch, right: 0.020 inch).
Recorded Flight Data and Runway Evidence
Data from the Garmin G3000 Integrated Avionics System showed an initial rightward lateral acceleration after MLG touchdown, followed by a significant left lateral acceleration when the nose landing gear (NLG) touched down about two seconds later. Heading began to diverge left of the track at that moment. Runway scars included three ground scars at the runway edge: left MLG marks with tread pattern and heavy braking, right MLG skid marks (dark and wide, no tread), and NLG skid marks. Tire pressures were found low: left MLG at 44 psi (spec 99-104 psi), NLG at 33.3 psi (spec 92-97 psi).
Similar Incidents
The investigation noted three other similar events involving Piper PA-46-600TP aircraft: N641WA on January 19, 2021, at Manchester Airport (MHT); N831PS on December 19, 2020, at Martin State Airport (MTN); and N115NX with three separate steering events between December 2019 and June 2020. All involved loss of directional control during landing, often after NLG touchdown, and all had low NLG tire pressures and steering horn measurement deviations similar to the incident aircraft.