Piper PA-28-161 accident near Meriden, Connecticut, April 22, 2011
On April 22, 2011 at about 9:25 pm local time, a Piper PA-28-161, registered N2838D, was substantially damaged in an accident during landing (flare/touchdown) near Meriden, Connecticut (Meriden Markham Municipal Airp airport). It was an instructional flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
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The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
Maintenance personnel's inadequate inspection of the main landing gear, which resulted in a failure of the right main landing gear’s inboard torque link lug due to a fatigue fracture. Contributing to the accident was owner's lack of compliance with a factory service bulletin addressing landing gear inspections.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- April 22, 2011 · about 9:25 pm local time
- Place
- Meriden, Connecticut · Meriden Markham Municipal Airp · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-28-161 · all PA-28-161s on the register
- Registration
- N2838D · registry record · serial 28-7916463
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The student pilot entered the left downwind leg of the traffic pattern at the airport. While on the final leg of the traffic pattern, the airplane encountered vertical wind shear and landed hard on the runway. After the impact, the right main landing gear of the airplane collapsed, and the pilot taxied off the right side of the runway, coming to rest perpendicular to the runway. The most recent annual inspection was performed 3 months before the accident, and at that time the airplane had accumulated 13,962.8 hours of total time in service. The airplane was involved in another accident 2 months earlier that involved a hard landing. Thirteen days before the accident, the most recent maintenance was completed on the airplane that involved an inspection of the main landing gear. The airplane was found to be in airworthy condition, was signed off on that date, and at that time had 14,055.3 hours of total time in service. Examination of the inboard torque link lug of the right main landing gear revealed that it failed as a result of progressive fatigue cracking. The lugs are the subject of a Piper service bulletin recommending repetitive 100-hour recurrent inspections for cracking in the lugs. Although the complete loading history of the gear is unknown, it is likely that detectable indications of metal fatigue would have been present for more than 100 flight hours. There was no documentation in the airplane’s maintenance records that indicated that the factory service bulletin had been performed.
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
- Abnormal runway contact during landing (flare/touchdown)
- Landing gear collapse during landing (flare/touchdown) defining event
- Runway excursion during landing (landing roll)
The NTSB's findings
- cause Aircraft › Aircraft systems › Landing gear system › Main gear strut/axle/truck › Not inspected
- factor Personnel issues › Action/decision › Action › Lack of action › Owner/builder
- cause Personnel issues › Task performance › Inspection › Scheduled/routine inspection › Maintenance personnel
Dual student
- Certificate: student
- Flight time: 139 hours in all; 67 in this make and model; 14 in the last 90 days; 7 in the last 30 days; 33 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (with waivers/limitations)
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 13,962 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, January 13, 2011
- Maximum gross weight: 2,200 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-320 SERIES (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: LZD Danielson CT at 8:10 pm
- Destination: MMK Merident CT
- Flight plan: VFR
- Runway 18, 3,100 ft by 75 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 170° at 10 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 11,000 ft
- Temperature: 52°F (11°C), dew point 43°F (6°C)
- Altimeter: 30.42 inHg
- Observation at 7:53 pm from MMK
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flig | 1 |
Other NTSB records under N2838D the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
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 docket at the NTSB holds the report as a PDF and the investigation's photographs and documents. This site 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 ERA11LA264.