N172MANew Piper Aircraft PA-46-500TP · 2006

On November 29, 2021, about 1447 eastern standard time, a Piper PA-46-500TP, N172MA, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Cornelia, Georgia. The airline transport pilot and two passengers sustained minor injuries. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight.

The pilot reported that he performed a straight-in visual approach to runway 6, a 5,500 ft-long, 100 ft-wide, asphalt runway at Habersham County Airport (AJR), Cornelia, Georgia. He added that the airplane was on a correct glidepath and correct airspeed of 120 knots on short final approach. The main landing gear touched down first, followed by the nose landing gear. As soon as the nosewheel touched down, the airplane pulled to the left. The pilot initially corrected with right rudder input, but the airplane pulled again to the left and the pilot again put in right rudder deflection. The pilot relaxed right rudder pressure a second time and then the airplane pulled very aggressively to the left. He set the throttle to beta, applied both brakes, and right rudder, but the airplane departed the left side of the runway about halfway down the runway. The airplane traveled into a ditch and came to rest upright in a grass area next to the runway.

Although runway 6 was 5,500 ft long, it had a displaced threshold of 1,392 ft. Review of skid marks revealed that the airplane touched down about halfway down the remaining 4,108-ft runway. The skid marks consisted of nose gear tire and right main gear tire, but no left main gear tire, consistent with touchdown in a left crab angle. As the skid marks neared the left edge of the runway, the left skid mark became visible, and all three tire marks were visible in the grass off the left side of the runway.

Examination of the wreckage by a Federal Aviation Administration inspector and a representative from the airframe manufacturer revealed that the left wing had separated from the airframe during impact with the ditch. Steering control continuity was confirmed from the rudder pedals to the steering horn. A primary flight display (PFD), multifunction display, and a fractured section of the lower nose landing gear trunnion were retained and forwarded to National Transportation Safety Board laboratories for further examination.

Metallurgical examination of the nose landing gear lower trunnion revealed fracture features consistent with overstress, and no evidence of fatigue.

Review of PFD data revealed that the airplane was flying about 110 knots for 25 seconds on final approach. It crossed the displaced runway threshold about 100 knots, the 1,000-ft marker at 85 knots, and the midpoint of the available runway about 73 knots.

Review of a pilot’s operating handbook for the make and model airplane revealed a published landing speed of 85 knots indicated airspeed (and 70 knots stall speed in the landing configuration).

The wind was recorded as calm at AJR about the time of the accident.