Northwest Regional Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Roanoke, Texas 76262
Friday, March 2, 2012 14:20 CST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot said he was on a cross-country flight and he noticed that the alternators were producing about 9 volts. He tried to troubleshoot the problem, and he switched the alternators off and on a “number” of times, but he was unable to get them to indicate more than 8 to 9 volts (the pilot used the term "alternator" and "generator" interchangeably in his statement). He said that he heard a “squeal” coming through the headset, and when the right alternator was switched off, the noise would stop. He said that he eventually lost radio communication capability while en route to his destination, and he diverted to an alternate airport. The pilot lowered the landing gear on the downwind leg, and he observed that the nose landing gear was extended by its reflection in the spinner. The landing roll was “normal” until the right main landing gear collapsed, and then the left main landing gear collapsed. A postaccident examination of the landing gear did not disclose any evidence of a mechanical malfunction. The pilot reported that he lost all electrical power due to a loss of one or both alternators. It is likely that the right alternator failed, so when the pilot turned off the right failed alternator, the noise stopped; however, the left alternator could not put out enough voltage to power the radios and other electrical demands. By the time the gear was lowered, there was not enough power to lock the left and right main landing gears in place, so they both collapsed during the landing roll. Had the pilot realized that he had lost electrical power and followed the emergency checklist, he could have verified the locked status of the landing gear and followed the emergency landing gear procedures to extend the gear.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot’s failure to follow the published emergency procedures to lower the landing gear following a loss of electrical power.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 3/2/2012
Event Day of the Week Friday
Time of Event 1420
Event Time Zone Central Standard Time
Event City Roanoke
Event State TEXAS
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 76262
Event Date Year 2012
Event Date Month 3
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 330259N
Event Location Longitude 0971356W
Event Location Airport Northwest Regional Airport
Event Location Nearest Airport ID 52F
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport On Airport
Distance from airport in statute miles 0
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation 643
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1453 Central Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 230
Weather Observation Facility ID AFW
Elevation of weather observation facility 722
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 6
Time Zone of the weather observation CST
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height --
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height --
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Clear
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling None
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 18
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 4
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 360
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 12
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 17
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29.79
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report KAFW 022053Z 36012G17KT 10SM CLR 18/04 A2979
Event Highest Injury None
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None 1
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 31009
NTSB Notification Source FAA-ASW-ROC
NTSB Notification Date --
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information --
Date of most recent change to record Aug 27 2013 1:38PM
User who most recently changed record johb
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N373JT
NTSB Number CEN12LA204
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed VFR
Flight plan Was Activated? No
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name PIPER
Aircraft Model PA-30
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 30-850
Certified Max Gross Weight --
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class --
Aircraft is a homebuilt? No
Flight Crew Seats --
Cabin Crew Seats --
Passenger Seats --
Total number of seats on the aircraft 4
Number of Engines 2
Fixed gear or retractable gear Retractable
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection --
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours --
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type C91
Aircraft Owner Name Pilot
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City CRYSTAL CITY
Aircraft Owner State TX
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 78839-4509
Operator is an individual? Yes
Operator Name Pilot
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address --
Operator City CRYSTAL CITY
Operator State TX
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 78839-4509
Operator Code --
Owner has at least one certificate None
Other Operator of large aircraft? No
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) Personal
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event No
Departure Airport Code 20R
Departure City CRYSTAL CITY
Departure State TX
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1300
Departure Time Zone CST
Destination Same as Local Flt --
Destination Airport Code DTO
Destination City Denton
Destination State TX
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight --
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Jan 2 2013 12:23PM
User who most recently changed record linj-i
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location 36
Runway Length 3500
Runway Width 40
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --