Event CEN15LA078

Factual narrative

On December 15, 2014, about 1030 central standard time, a Piper PA-46-350P airplane, N224JJ, departed the left side of the runway at the Sugar Land Regional Airport (SGR), Houston, Texas. The commercial rated pilot was not injured. The airplane was registered to operated by Dilkara Leasing LLC, Las Vegas, Nevada under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as a personal flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident and an instrument flight plan was filed. The airplane departed the Georgetown Municipal Airport (KGTU) Georgetown, Texas, about 0940. The pilot reported that he crossed the runway threshold at 100 feet and 85 knots, and touched down on the runway about 80-85 knots. When the nosewheel touched the runway, the airplane veered sharply left. He applied right rudder; however, the airplane continued off the left side of the runway. The nose gear collapsed and the airplane came to rest about 150 feet from the runway. The pilot stated that after the accident, an operations supervisor from the Fixed Based Operator (FBO) inspected the marks left on the runway. The pilot added that at the point where the nosewheel first contacted the runway, it appeared the wheel turned 90 degrees to the left. Examination of the airplane revealed damage to the propeller, nose landing gear, lower cowling, and substantial damage to the firewall. An inspection of the engine compartment by the responding Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Inspector, revealed the engine mount had broken at the nose landing gear actuator attach point. Piper Aircraft, Inc., issued Service Bulletin 1103 on April 22, 2002, which addressed engine mount inspections of Piper Malibu and Mirage aircraft. The Service Bulletin requires Piper Malibu operators to inspect the engine mounts for cracks at the next scheduled maintenance event, and each 100 hours' time in service, or annual inspection thereafter. When cracks are observed, the engine mount is to be replaced with a newly designed model which incorporated a one-piece foot at the nose gear actuator attach point. The latest version is Service Bulletin 1103E, and was issued on June 5, 2014. The accident airplane was a Piper PA-46-350P, serial number 4622155, manufactured in 1994. The airplane's last annual maintenance inspection was performed on July 1, 2014, at the time of the accident, the total aircraft time was 2,024.0 hours. According to the FAA inspector, Service Bulletin 1103 had been accomplished during the annual inspections on the following dates and times: June 2011-1,795 hours, June 2012-1,849 hours, May 2013-1,900 hours. The inspector added that in July 2014 (1,993 hours) a visual inspection was performed but was not documented in ether the airframe or engine logs. The pilot reported that, just after landing and as the nosewheel touched the runway, the airplane veered sharply left. The pilot applied right rudder; however, the airplane continued off the left side of the runway. The airplane's nose landing gear (NLG) collapsed, and the airplane came to rest in a grassy area 150 ft from the runway. The examination of the airplane revealed a fractured engine mount in the area of the NLG actuator. As a result of similar accidents, the airplane's manufacturer had issued (about 12 1/2 years before the accident) a mandatory service bulletin (SB), which included a 100-hour recurring inspection to determine if cracks had developed on the engine mount in the area of the NLG actuator feet. The latest version of the SB was issued about 6 months before the accident. A review of the airplane's maintenance records revealed that maintenance personnel had completed the SB inspection during three previous annual inspections; however, there was no record that the SB inspection was conducted during the last annual inspection, which occurred about 6 months before the accident. The accident is consistent with an uncommanded left turn during landing as a result of a broken engine mount. Based on the evidence and the events, it's likely that maintenance personnel did not inspect the engine mount during the most recent annual inspection or that they did inspect the area and missed the cracks that had likely developed on the engine mount. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12

NTSB Findings

Hierarchical cause / factor breakdown from the FAA bulk avdata database. Each finding tagged C (Cause) or F (Factor).

• C Aircraft-Aircraft systems-Landing gear system-Nose/tail gear attach section-Fatigue/wear/corrosion - C
• F Aircraft-Aircraft systems-Landing gear system-Nose/tail gear attach section-Inadequate inspection - F
• C Aircraft-Aircraft systems-Landing gear system-Nose/tail gear attach section-Failure - C
• F Personnel issues-Task performance-Inspection-Scheduled/routine inspection-Maintenance personnel - F