Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Montgomery Regional Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Montgomery, Alabama 36101
Tuesady, March 2, 2004 11:20 CDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The pilot landed on runway 28 with a crosswind from the left. After touchdown, the airplane yawed to the left. The pilot started correcting for the yaw but the correction felt to be too strong for the airplane to handle. The pilot allowed the airplane to drift to the left, eventually departing the runway on the left side onto the grass. Twenty yards from the runway, the nose gear dug into the soft grass and collapsed. Examination of the airplane revealed the nose gear collapsed, the propeller broken and damage to the firewall. The right main landing gear and the right wing tip were also bent. The nose gear trunnion was sent to the NTSB Materials Laboratory for a fracture analysis. The trunnion from the nose gear assembly was examined and the fracture faces contained no evidence of a fatigue crack or other preexisting condition leading to the fracture. According to the pilot's handbook the, the demonstrated crosswind component for the Piper PA-46-350P is 17 knots. The reported surface winds at the time of the accident were 200 degrees at 10 knots. The pilot's had accumulated a total of 1300 hours in the PA-46.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The pilot's inadequate compensation for wind and his failure to maintain directional control during landing roll that resulted in the collapse of the nose gear. The crosswind was a contributing factor.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 3/2/2004 |
| Event Day of the Week | Tuesday |
| Time of Event | 1120 |
| Event Time Zone | Central Daylight Time |
| Event City | Montgomery |
| Event State | ALABAMA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 36101 |
| Event Date Year | 2004 |
| Event Date Month | 3 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 321802N |
| Event Location Longitude | 0862338W |
| Event Location Airport | Montgomery Regional |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | KMGM |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | On Airport |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | 0 |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | 0 |
| Airport Elevation | 0 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | Unknown |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1052 Central Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 0 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | MGM |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 221 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 0 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | CDT |
| Lighting Conditions | -- |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | 7500 |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | -- |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | Unknown |
| Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling | Broken |
| Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) | -- |
| Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) | -- |
| Visibility (Statute Miles) | 10 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | 24 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 21 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 200 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 12 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Unknown |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 30.23 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | -- |
| Intensity of Precipitation | -- |
| METAR weather report | -- |
| Event Highest Injury | Minor |
| On Ground, Fatal Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Minor Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Serious Injuries | -- |
| 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) | 17259 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA |
| NTSB Notification Date | May 13 2004 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | 1200 |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | DMS |
| Date of most recent change to record | Feb 24 2005 9:13AM |
| User who most recently changed record | NTSB\JOHB |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | Birmingham FSDO |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N91734 |
| NTSB Number | ATL04LA114 |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | -- |
| Federal Aviation Reg. Part | Part 91: General Aviation |
| Type of Flight Plan filed | Unknown |
| Flight plan Was Activated? | No |
| Damage | Substantial |
| Aircraft Fire | None |
| Aircraft Explosion | None |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | Piper |
| Aircraft Model | PA-46-350P |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 4622040 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 4300 |
| Aircraft Category | Airplane |
| Aircraft Registration Class | U.S. Registered/U.S. Soil |
| Aircraft is a homebuilt? | No |
| Flight Crew Seats | -- |
| Cabin Crew Seats | -- |
| Passenger Seats | -- |
| Total number of seats on the aircraft | 6 |
| Number of Engines | 1 |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Fixed |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | Annual |
| Date of Last Inspection | Jul 28 2003 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | -- |
| Airframe Hours | 1159 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | Robert Struan Company Inc |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | 2316 Baybard Blvd |
| Aircraft Owner City | Wilmington |
| Aircraft Owner State | DE |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 19802 |
| Operator is an individual? | No |
| Operator Name | Howard M. Robertson |
| Operator Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Street Address | 4304 Choctaw Circle |
| Operator City | Huntsville |
| Operator State | AL |
| Operator Country | USA |
| Operator Zip code | 35801 |
| Operator Code | -- |
| Owner has at least one certificate | None |
| Other Operator of large aircraft? | -- |
| Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation | -- |
| 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) | Unknown |
| Second Pilot on Board | No |
| Departure Point Same as Event | Yes |
| Departure Airport Code | MGM |
| Departure City | Montgomery |
| Departure State | AL |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 1040 |
| Departure Time Zone | CDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere |
| Destination Airport Code | -- |
| Destination City | -- |
| Destination State | -- |
| Destination Country | -- |
| Specific Phase of Flight | Landing - roll |
| Report sent to ICAO? | No |
| Evacuation occurred | No |
| Date of most recent change to record | Apr 17 2008 3:23PM |
| User who most recently changed record | NTSB\HAMG |
| Since inspection or accident | Last Inspection |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | 28 |
| Runway Length | 9010 |
| Runway Width | 150 |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |