Piper PA-32RT-300 N94GF accident near Brevard, North Carolina

Probable cause

The pilot’s improper landing flare, which resulted in a hard landing, overstress fracture of components of the left main landing gear, and subsequent runway excursion.

NTSB analysis

The pilot stated that prior to landing he obtained the automated weather report from a nearby airport and continued to the destination where he overflew the airport and entered the traffic pattern for landing. He noted the direction of the windsocks and that they favored the selected runway, and he continued his approach. He turned onto the base and final legs of the airport traffic pattern, and while on final approach maintained 85 knots with the flaps fully extended and the landing gear down and locked. The pilot-rated passenger described the landing as, “harder than normal” while the pilot described it as being, “moderate to hard.” After brake application the airplane veered to the left, which the pilot attributed to be from a “soft” right brake. The airplane went off the left side of the runway and yawed 180° coming to rest upright. The pilot also stated that he thought the wind may have shifted to a tailwind on landing.

Postaccident examination of the airplane by a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector revealed that the outboard portion of the airplane’s right wing was substantially damaged during the accident. The left wing immediately above the left main landing gear was also damaged and displayed signatures consistent with the landing gear strut being forced upward through the wing skin. Additionally, the left main landing gear strut had separated from the trunnion fitting assembly. The strut showed deep scratches and gouges consistent with being driven upward through the wing’s skin after it separated from the trunnion. No evidence of pre-existing cracking or fractures was noted on the trunnion assembly. The FAA inspector also examined the airplane’s brakes and noted no resistance when actuating the pedals from the left seat. Despite this finding, it is most likely that the airplane’s left main landing gear was displaced from its normal orientation during the hard landing, which resulted in the runway excursion.

Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for ERA21LA153 for the full record.