Piper PA 46-350P accident near West Chicago, Illinois, April 11, 2014
On April 11, 2014 at about 9:07 pm local time, a 2012 Piper PA 46-350P, registered N1972M, was substantially damaged in an accident during landing (landing roll) near West Chicago, Illinois (Dupage County Airport). It was a business flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
Preview. This page is not yet listed for search engines.
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The failure of the nose gear actuator attachment to the engine mount due to overstress, which resulted in the loss of directional control during landing.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- April 11, 2014 · about 9:07 pm local time
- Place
- West Chicago, Illinois · Dupage County Airport · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA 46-350P, built 2012 · all PA 46-350Ps on the register
- Registration
- N1972M · registry record · serial 4636524
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Business flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The commercial pilot was conducting a business flight and was preparing to land the airplane. He reported that, during the landing approach, he lowered the landing gear, which resulted in a gear down-and-locked indication. He subsequently made a smooth landing, but as soon as the nose gear touched down, the airplane "yanked severely to the left." He attempted to maintain directional control, but the airplane exited the left side of the runway into grass, the right wing contacted an airport sign, and the landing gear collapsed. A postaccident examination revealed that the nose gear actuator attachment to the engine mount was fractured in two places. A metallurgical examination revealed that the fracture surfaces and deformation patterns were indicative of overstress separations at both locations. No preexisting cracking was noted. The investigation could not determine whether the overstress damage occurred during the accident landing or previous landings. The airplane manufacturer had previously issued a service bulletin (SB), which recommended that an initial inspection of the engine mount for cracks in the area of the nose gear actuator attachment be accomplished at 740 hours time in service (TIS). However, the airplane only had 550 hours TIS at the time of the accident; therefore, it had not undergone the initial inspection recommended by the SB. Following the accident, the manufacturer reduced the initial inspection time to 200 hours TIS and redesigned the engine mount.
The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
What happened, in order
- Aircraft structural failure during landing (landing roll) defining event
- Loss of control on ground during landing (landing roll)
- Collision with terrain or object (not controlled flight into terrain) during landing (landing roll)
- Landing gear collapse during landing (landing roll)
The NTSB's findings
- cause Aircraft › Aircraft systems › Landing gear system › Nose/tail landing gear › Malfunction
- cause Aircraft › Aircraft power plant › Power plant › Mounts › Failure
- cause Aircraft › Aircraft oper/perf/capability › Performance/control parameters › Directional control › Attain/maintain not possible
- Personnel issues › Task performance › Use of equip/info › Aircraft control › Pilot
Pilot
- Certificate: commercial pilot
- Ratings: single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 640 hours in all; 357 in this make and model; 3 in the last 90 days; 3 in the last 30 days; 604 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (with waivers/limitations)
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 537.5 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, January 17, 2014; 46 hours since
- Seats: 6
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Lycoming TIO-540-AE2A (piston); 0 hours total
- Not recorded
- Operator: General Leasing Of Michigan LLC
The flight
- Departed from: D95 Lapeer MI at 7:30 pm
- Destination: DPA West Chicago IL
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 20R, 7,571 ft by 100 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 240° at 14 knots, gusting 20
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 10,000 ft
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
- Observation at 9:10 pm from DPA
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flight crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 1 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), has not been read from the NTSB for this case yet; the list appears here once it has. Open the docket at the NTSB.
About this page
Everything above comes from the NTSB's public accident database: the narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words, and the coded tables behind its report (pilot, aircraft, flight, weather, injuries, sequence of events) are written out in plain English. Pilots' ages, home towns and medical details are left out on purpose. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, the folder of records gathered during the investigation, shown as the NTSB released them (the NTSB redacts some personal details first) and listed under the NTSB's own titles. This site's own text never names pilots, passengers or anyone else involved. A preliminary report describes what is known soon after the event and can change; the final report, with the probable cause, usually follows one to two years later and this page is refreshed when it does. Case number CEN14LA196.