Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Piedmont Triad Int. A/P Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Greensboro, North Carolina 27410
Sunday, February 15, 1998 9:10 EST
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
According to the pilot, when he retracted the landing gear, the nose gear indicator light was red, indicating the gear was not up and locked. He recycled the gear and still saw a red light, so the pilot flew under the maximum gear extension speed. On approach, the pilot stated he extended the landing gear, and got a green indicator light, indicating the gear was down and locked. As the airplane touched down, the nose gear collapsed, and the airplane slid off the runway and nosed over. According to the FAA inspector, examination of the landing gear and skid marks on the runway revealed that the nose wheel was turned beyond its normal limits on touchdown. He stated that a Malfunction and Defect Report was submitted on the nose landing gear strut. According to the FAA, in conversations with the kit manufacturer, it was noted that the nose gear on this airplane was designed poorly, in that it must be installed perfectly to work correctly. Because of the inexperience of some kit builders, this can lead to problems. Both the FAA and the kit manufacturer believe that the servicing of the nose gear aggravated a pre-existing problem with the nose gear installation, which led to the collapse.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The improper installation of the nose landing gear strut, which led to the collapse of the nose gear upon touchdown.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 2/15/1998 |
| Event Day of the Week | Sunday |
| Time of Event | 910 |
| Event Time Zone | Eastern Standard Time |
| Event City | GREENSBORO |
| Event State | NORTH CAROLINA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 27410 |
| Event Date Year | 1998 |
| Event Date Month | 2 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | |
| Event Location Longitude | |
| Event Location Airport | PIEDMONT TRIAD INT. A/P |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | GSO |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | On Airport |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | 1 |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | 320 |
| Airport Elevation | 926 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | Unknown |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 932 Eastern Standard Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 320 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | GSO |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 926 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 1 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | EST |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | 0 |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | 22000 |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | Thin Broken |
| Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling | None |
| Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) | 0 |
| Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) | 0 |
| Visibility (Statute Miles) | 9 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | 2 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | -3 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 100 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Unknown |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 3 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | Unknown |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | 0 |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 30 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | 0 |
| Intensity of Precipitation | Unknown |
| METAR weather report | -- |
| Event Highest Injury | Minor |
| On Ground, Fatal Injuries | 0 |
| On Ground, Minor Injuries | 0 |
| On Ground, Serious Injuries | 0 |
| Injury Total Fatal | -- |
| Injury Total Minor | 1 |
| Injury Total None | -- |
| Injury Total Serious | -- |
| Injury Total All | 1 |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 293 |
| NTSB Notification Source | -- |
| NTSB Notification Date | Feb 15 1998 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | 1045 |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | IMAGE |
| Date of most recent change to record | Feb 16 2001 11:54AM |
| User who most recently changed record | dbo |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N94FA |
| NTSB Number | ATL98LA043 |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | N |
| Federal Aviation Reg. Part | Part 91: General Aviation |
| Type of Flight Plan filed | None |
| Flight plan Was Activated? | -- |
| Damage | Substantial |
| Aircraft Fire | None |
| Aircraft Explosion | None |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | Wilde Mickey |
| Aircraft Model | QUESTAIR 20 |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | QUESTAIR 2 |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 0017 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 2000 |
| Aircraft Category | Airplane |
| Aircraft Registration Class | U.S. Registered/U.S. Soil |
| Aircraft is a homebuilt? | Yes |
| Flight Crew Seats | -- |
| Cabin Crew Seats | -- |
| Passenger Seats | -- |
| Total number of seats on the aircraft | 2 |
| Number of Engines | 1 |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Retractable |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | 100 Hour |
| Date of Last Inspection | Sep 4 1997 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | -- |
| Airframe Hours | 678 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | Unknown |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | NINE FOUR F.A. INC |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | 405 WAYCROSS DR. |
| Aircraft Owner City | GREENSBORO |
| Aircraft Owner State | NC |
| Aircraft Owner Country | |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 27410 |
| Operator is an individual? | -- |
| Operator Name | HOWARD F. AUMAN |
| Operator Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Street Address | |
| Operator City | |
| Operator State | |
| Operator Country | |
| Operator Zip code | |
| Operator Code | |
| Owner has at least one certificate | None |
| Other Operator of large aircraft? | No |
| Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation | Unknown |
| Operator Certificate Number | -- |
| Indicates whether an air carrier operation was scheduled or not | -- |
| Indicates Domestic or International Flight | -- |
| Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail | -- |
| Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) | Personal |
| Second Pilot on Board | No |
| Departure Point Same as Event | No |
| Departure Airport Code | FTY |
| Departure City | ATLANTA |
| Departure State | GA |
| Departure Country | |
| Departure Time | 730 |
| Departure Time Zone | EST |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | crash at destination city |
| Destination Airport Code | GSO |
| Destination City | |
| Destination State | |
| Destination Country | |
| Specific Phase of Flight | -- |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Feb 20 2001 6:29PM |
| User who most recently changed record | dbo |
| Since inspection or accident | -- |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | 14 |
| Runway Length | 6380 |
| Runway Width | 150 |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |