What happened
On July 4, 2023, at approximately 19:11 CDT, a Piper PA-46-600TP, registration N600BJ, was involved in an accident during landing at Houston Executive Airport (TME) in Brookshire, Texas. The flight was being operated under 14 CFR Part 91 as a personal flight.
According to the pilot, the aircraft crossed the runway threshold at approximately 80 to 85 knots and completed a normal touchdown. As the nose landing gear was deployed, the aircraft pulled to the left. The pilot attempted to correct this with right rudder, but the airplane then suddenly veered hard to the right. The pilot reported that the rudder did not respond to inputs as expected during this maneuver. As the aircraft approached the right edge of the runway, the rudder became responsive again, but the right landing gear had already entered the grass. The pilot then applied left rudder, causing the aircraft to turn hard to the left, cross the runway, and exit the left side into the grass. The aircraft rotated 180 degrees from its original landing direction and came to rest in the mud. The pilot and passenger were not injured.
Investigation of the runway revealed black tire marks that traced the aircraft's path from the landing touchdown to its final position. The marks indicated that the main landing gear tread pattern was evident during the veer to the right. The tracks for the right and nose landing gear departed the right side of the runway before re-entering the runway, at which point all three tracks became solid. During the subsequent veer to the left, the tire marks were moderate to extreme and intermittent in several areas.
The investigation
A post-accident examination of the aircraft revealed that the left and right gear wheels had fractured from the airplane where the fork attached to the oleo strut tube. The right wing was bent upward near midspan, and there was buckling damage to the lower right fuselage just behind the wing.
The nose landing gear remained intact, and no anomalies were found in the gear or steering system. A small impact mark was noted on the aft face of the left side of the steering arm, which was consistent with contacting the stop on the engine mount. Measurements of the gap between the steering arm and the rollers were within service letter specifications. An Appareo Stratus 2S ADS-B receiver and an SD card from the multi-function display were retained for analysis.