Piper PA-28-161 accident near Lafayette, Indiana, April 3, 1997
On April 3, 1997 at about 3:30 am local time, a Piper PA-28-161, registered N6148H, was substantially damaged in an accident near Lafayette, Indiana (Lafayette Purdue airport). It was an instructional 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).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
a fatigue failure of the fight main landing gear strut/spar attachment screws.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- April 3, 1997 · about 3:30 am local time
- Place
- Lafayette, Indiana · Lafayette Purdue · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-28-161 · all PA-28-161s on the register
- Registration
- N6148H · registry record · serial 287816230
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The CFI and student pilot were conducting night takeoffs and landings. The CFI stated that after the third landing touchdown, at an airspeed of approximately 30 knot, the right main landing gear strut began to shimmy and the gear collapsed. The airplane came to rest on the runway. The CFI stated they had used aft elevator pressure to slow the airplane and not the brakes. Metallurgical examination of the fractured landing gear strut/spar attachment screws revealed that two of the four screws contained fatigue cracking. The other two screw fractures were secondary failures.
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
Pilot
- Certificate: flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 875 hours in all; 520 in this make and model; 71 in the last 90 days; 46 in the last 30 days; 401 as pilot in command; 245 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: rgt
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 5,183 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, March 17, 1997; 32 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,325 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-320-D3G (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: 3AR at 3:00 am
- Destination: LAF
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 28, 6,600 ft by 150 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: night, bright
- Visibility: 20 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 59°F (15°C), dew point 46°F (8°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 2 |
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.
Everything on this page comes from the NTSB's public records. The narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words; the coded tables behind the report are written out in plain English, with pilots' ages, home towns and medical details left out. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, shown as the NTSB released them. This site's own text never names anyone involved. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.