N15412Piper PA-34-200 · 1972

On November 25, 2019, about 1610 central standard time, a Piper PA34-200 airplane, N15412, landed hard on the nose landing gear at Mount Pleasant Regional Airport, (OSA), Mount Pleasant, Texas. The flight instructor and pilot under instruction were not injured and the airplane sustained substantial damage. The airplane was registered to and operated by US Aviation Group LLC, under the provisions of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as an instructional flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident and no flight plan had been filed. The cross-country flight originated from Denton Enterprise Airport (DTO), Denton, Texas, about 1510.

A company mechanic stated that before the accident flight he was called out to the airplane for maintenance and when he arrived, he noticed the nose gear strut was extended too far. He released some nitrogen pressure from the strut and lowered it to 2.8 inches of extension, which was within proper tolerance.

According to the flight instructor (CFI), during the preflight inspection the nose gear strut appeared to be extended more than normal so they called a company mechanic to the assess the issue. He stated that the mechanic released pressure in the nose strut which resulted in the strut lowering to a normal position. The CFI stated that during the flight the airplane and landing gear were operating normally.

The pilot receiving multi-engine instruction was in the left seat and flew the accident approach and landing. Before landing the pilot stated that he confirmed the landing gear were down and locked. The CFI stated that during the landing the airplane touched down on the runway with the main landing gear first and then the nose gear touched down and felt like it had a flat tire. The airplane bounced, during which the CFI noticed a high pitch attitude and assumed control of the airplane, then landed again. During this sequence the nose gear strut came through the windscreen between the two pilots.

The CFI stated that he had accumulated 15 flight hours in the accident airplane make and model. He added that the accident flight was his first flight in the accident airplane.

The pilot receiving instruction stated that during the landing the main gear touched first and then the nose gear, then bounced into the air about 5 ft. He stated that the CFI took control of the airplane after the bounce. The pilot receiving instruction had flown the accident airplane for a total of 3 flights and 3.9 hours not including the accident flight. During the flight lesson before the accident flight, he completed 3 to 4 good landings with no bounces.

One witness, who was an OSA airport employee, observed the approach and landing. He stated that the airplane landed on the nose wheel first while the main landing gear were still about one foot off the runway. The airplane bounced into the air then landed hard on the nose wheel again. The airplane slid on the runway and came to rest upright about 1,000 ft later.

Another witness, who is a pilot and has his airplane hangared at OSA, observed the approach and landing. He stated that the airplane was very fast on final approach and landed fairly flat on the first landing attempt. The airplane bounced into the air about 10 to 15 ft then landed on the nose gear. The airplane bounced a final time and came down directly on the nose gear. The airplane hit the runway hard and the nose strut collapsed upward into the fuselage (Figure 1).

Figure 1 – Airplane with nose gear strut through the fuselage and windscreen

A postaccident examination of the damage to the nose landing gear revealed that the lower truss of the nose gear mounting structure was fractured. The nose gear mount assembly separated from the airframe but remained attached to the windscreen trim strip. The mount was displaced upward and punctured through the top of the fuselage and fractured the windscreen. The nose landing gear strut was intact and did not show signs of damage or failure.