Summary
On May 16, 2019, a Piper PA44 (N39693) was involved in an accident near Centralia, IL. The accident resulted in 2 minor injuries. The aircraft sustained substantial damage.
The National Transportation Safety Board determined the probable cause of this accident to be: The failure of the nose landing gear to extend for reasons that could not be determined based on the available information.
On May 15, 2019, about 1915 central daylight time, a Piper PA44-180, N39693, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Centralia, Illinois. The flight instructor and pilot receiving instruction sustained minor injuries. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 instructional flight.
After about 2 hours of uneventful flight, the pilots were returning to the airport for landing. While performing the Before Landing checklist, the instructor and pilot receiving instruction noticed that the nose landing gear light did not illuminate. Utilizing the landing gear mirror, the instructor could see that the landing gear door was open, but he could only see the nose landing gear tire partially extended.
This accident is documented in NTSB report CEN19LA142. AviatorDB cross-references NTSB investigation data with FAA registry records to provide comprehensive safety information for aircraft N39693.
Accident Details
Probable Cause and Findings
The failure of the nose landing gear to extend for reasons that could not be determined based on the available information.
Aircraft Information
Registered Owner (Historical)
Analysis
On May 15, 2019, about 1915 central daylight time, a Piper PA44-180, N39693, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Centralia, Illinois. The flight instructor and pilot receiving instruction sustained minor injuries. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 instructional flight.
After about 2 hours of uneventful flight, the pilots were returning to the airport for landing. While performing the Before Landing checklist, the instructor and pilot receiving instruction noticed that the nose landing gear light did not illuminate. Utilizing the landing gear mirror, the instructor could see that the landing gear door was open, but he could only see the nose landing gear tire partially extended. They flew the airplane to a nearby practice area and the pilots performed the inoperative landing gear checklist. The instructor attempted to extend the gear with the emergency extension system, but the nose gear did not extend. The instructor then attempted maneuvers to extend the nose landing gear; however, the gear did not extend. The pilots returned to the airport and landed in a grassy area parallel to the runway. Upon touchdown, the nose dug into the soft, wet ground and the airplane came to rest inverted, resulting in substantial damage to the fuselage and empennage.
Postaccident examination of the nose landing gear system and emergency gear extension system did not reveal any anomalies that could have resulted in the failure of the nose gear to extend; however, a detailed examination of the system was not possible due to the extent of the impact damage.
Data Source
Data provided by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). For more information on this event, visit the NTSB Records Search website. NTSB# CEN19LA142