Friday, April 15, 2016

SportCruiser (PiperSport), N197PS: Accident occurred April 14, 2016 in Mansfield, Richland County, Ohio

Aviation Accident Final Report -  National Transportation Safety Board: https://app.ntsb.gov/pdf

Investigation Docket -  National Transportation Safety Board: https://dms.ntsb.gov/pubdms

The National Transportation Safety Board did not travel to the scene of this accident.

Additional Participating Entity:

Federal Aviation Administration / Flight Standards District Office; Cleveland, Ohio

http://registry.faa.gov/N197PS

NTSB Identification: CEN16LA157 
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Thursday, April 14, 2016 in Mansfield, OH
Probable Cause Approval Date: 05/01/2017
Aircraft: CZECH SPORT AIRCRAFT AS PIPER SPORT, registration: N197PS
Injuries: 1 Uninjured.

NTSB investigators may not have traveled in support of this investigation and used data provided by various sources to prepare this aircraft accident report.

The airline transport pilot/owner was conducting a personal cross-country flight. The pilot stated that, after the main landing gear touched down, he eased the backpressure on the control stick and that the nose landing gear (NLG) then separated from the airplane. The airplane slid on the runway surface. 

Postaccident examination of the airplane revealed that the NLG had fractured at a weld area. An airplane manufacturer service bulletin (SB) called for periodic inspection of the NLG for cracks in the weld area every 25 hours. The pilot reported that the NLG had accumulated a total time in service of 371 hours at the time of the accident and that it was last inspected 31 flight hours before the accident.

The National Transportation Safety Board determines the probable cause(s) of this accident as follows:
The pilot's failure to inspect the nose landing gear (NLG), which resulted in a crack going undetected and the subsequent separation of the NLG at the weld area during landing.

On April 14, 2016, at 0822 eastern daylight time, a Czech Sport Aircraft AS Piper Sport, N197PS, impacted runway 32 during landing at Mansfield Lahm Regional Airport (MFD), Mansfield, Ohio. The nose landing gear separated at a weld, which resulted in the airplane nose impacting the runway. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the engine firewall. The pilot was uninjured. The airplane was registered to an operated by the pilot under 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as a personal flight that was not operating on a flight plan. The flight departed from Columbia Airport, Columbia Station, Ohio at 0745 and was destined to MFD.

The pilot stated that after the main landing gear touch down at an airspeed of about 55 knots, he began to ease backpressure on the control stick. As the backpressure eased, the nosewheel landing gear strut separated from the airplane. The airplane slid on the runway for about 150 feet and the nosewheel/strut remained about 30 feet behind the airplane and along the runway centerline.

Postaccident examination of the nose landing gear, part number SG0270N, by a Federal Aviation Administration Aviation Safety Inspector revealed that it had fractured at a weld. 

According to a logbook entry dated August 18, 2014, at an engine total time since new of 196.6 hours, the nose landing gear was inspected in accordance with a Czech Sport Aircraft AS service bulletin, SB-CR-016. There were no subsequent logbook entries citing compliance with SB-CR-016. 

The pilot reported that the nose landing gear accumulated a total time in service of 371 hours at the time of the accident and was last inspected 31 hours in service before the time of the accident. The airplane and engine total times in service at the time of the accident were 371 hours.

Czech Sport Aircraft AS service bulletin, SB-CR-016, dated October 9, 2013, Inspection of the Landing Gear Leg for all SportCruiser aircraft with the [nose landing gear] (NLG) SG0270N, all Piper Sport aircraft with the NLG SG0270N installed, and all PS-28 Cruiser aircraft with the NLG SG0270N installed, stated:

"Some Sport Cruiser / Piper Sport / PS-28 Cruiser aircraft have developed cracks in the bottom side of the lower section of the nose landing gear. The cracks develop on the nose landing gear assembly along the weld of the tube and the bracket. Furthermore, on several aircraft bending of the pivot connecting the fork with leg was discovered and cracks from holes of bolts on the fork. To address this potentially unsafe condition, a repetitive inspection is required of the bottom side of the lower section, in the area of the weld of the tube, the bracket and the pivot and the fork in the place of the bolts mounting the fork to the landing gear."

The compliance with SB-CR-016 was cited as:

A. Before next flight after issue of this bulletin.

B. Periodically at each 25 FH or 50 cycles whatever occurs first check as described in documents [1] for PS-28 Cruiser and [2] for Sport Cruiser (see REFERENCES).

C. During pre-flight check (see POH, Section 4, 4.1 Pre-flight check, Inspection Check List, Point 4 - Nose gear) visually inspect pivot (see the picture on the Page 3 of 4 of this Service Bulletin) and verify that there is no evidence of cracks or bending.

NTSB Identification: CEN16LA157
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Thursday, April 14, 2016 in Mansfield, OH
Aircraft: CZECH SPORT AIRCRAFT AS PIPER SPORT, registration: N197PS
Injuries: 1 Uninjured.

This is preliminary information, subject to change, and may contain errors. Any errors in this report will be corrected when the final report has been completed. NTSB investigators may not have traveled in support of this investigation and used data provided by various sources to prepare this aircraft accident report.


On April 14, 2016, at 0822 eastern daylight time, a Czech Sport Aircraft AS Piper Sport, N197PS, impacted runway 32 during landing at the Mansfield Lahm Regional Airport (MFD), Mansfield, Ohio. The airplane sustained substantial damage and the pilot was uninjured. The airplane was registered to an operated by the pilot under 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as a personal flight that was not operating on a flight plan. The flight departed from Columbia Airport, Columbia Station, Ohio, and was destined to MFD.


An examination of the airplane showed the nose landing gear separated at a weld when it touched down, which resulted in the airplane's nose impacting the runway. The airplane's firewall sustained substantial damage.

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