Piper PA-30 N8560Y accident near Lumberton, Mississippi

Probable cause

Collapse of the landing gear due to worn left main landing gear components.

NTSB analysis

The airplane touched down softly 150 feet beyond the threshold of the 3,000-foot-long runway. About 1,500 feet into the landing roll, the airplane started to drift left of centerline, and the pilot applied right rudder pedal to correct. At that time, the left main landing gear collapsed and the airplane came to rest on the runway. Examination of the landing gear system revealed that the left main landing gear sidebrace, sidebrace studs, and links were worn. The worn components allowed the left main landing gear down-limit switch to prematurely stop the landing gear motor before the left main landing gear had reached the locked position. Subsequently, the minor sideload created by the pilot's rudder input collapsed the left main landing gear. Airworthiness directive (AD) 97-01-01R1 required an extensive applicable landing gear inspection for the make and model airplane after every 1,000 hours of time in service. Review of the maintenance records revealed that the airplane's last required inspection was performed about 12 years prior to the accident, during which time the airplane had accumulated 942 hours in service.

Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for ERA09LA209 for the full record.