Piper PA-44-180 accident near Titusville, Florida, August 1, 2012
On August 1, 2012 at about 9:15 pm local time, a Piper PA-44-180, registered N740FT, was substantially damaged in an accident during approach near Titusville, Florida (Space Coast Regional airport). It was an instructional flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 3 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
Inadequate maintenance servicing and inspection of the nose landing gear, which resulted in the failure of the nose landing gear to lock and its subsequent collapse during landing.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- August 1, 2012 · about 9:15 pm local time
- Place
- Titusville, Florida · Space Coast Regional · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 3 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-44-180 · all PA-44-180s on the register
- Registration
- N740FT · no longer on the register · serial 44-7995084
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The flight instructor was conducting practice instrument landing system approaches during an instructional flight when he observed that the nose landing gear indicator light did not indicate down and locked. He observed that the nose gear was extended and he cycled the landing gear without any changes to the nose gear indicator light. During a subsequent landing attempt, the airplane initially touched down on the main landing gear; however, as the nose landing gear touched down, it began to collapse. The airplane came to rest about 2,500 feet from the approach end of the runway, and sustained substantial damage to the fuselage around the nose gear. Postaccident examination of the airplane revealed that the nose landing gear eccentric bushing, which engaged the downlock hook, was out of adjustment. In addition, a check of the hydraulic system fluid reservoir dipstick revealed that the fluid level was below the amount that could be observed on the dipstick. After the hydraulic system fluid reservoir was properly serviced and the eccentric bushing adjusted, the landing gear functioned normally. The airplane had been operated for about 10 hours since its most recent 100-hour inspection, which was performed about 12 days earlier. The accident flight was the airplane's first flight after it was released from maintenance, which included a landing gear inspection and operational check.
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 maintenance event during prior to flight
- Sys/Comp malf/fail (non-power) during approach defining event
- Landing gear collapse during landing (landing roll)
The NTSB's findings
- cause Personnel issues › Task performance › Maintenance › (general) › Maintenance personnel
- cause Aircraft › Aircraft systems › Landing gear system › Nose/tail landing gear › Inadequate inspection
- cause Aircraft › Fluids/misc hardware › Fluids › Fuel › Not serviced/maintained
Flight instructor
- Certificate: flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 1,565 hours in all; 618 in this make and model; 159 in the last 90 days; 40 in the last 30 days; 1,504 as pilot in command; 1,112 on instruments
- Last flight review: January 14, 2011
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (without waivers/limitations)
- Seat: rgt
- Injury: no injuries
Dual student
- Certificate: private
- Ratings: single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (without waivers/limitations)
- Seat: rgt
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 9,200 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, July 20, 2012; 10 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,816 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine 1: Lycoming O-360 SERIES (piston); 0 hours total
- Engine 2: Lycoming O-360 SERIES (piston); 0 hours total
- Operator: Space Coast Aviation
The flight
- Departed from: COI Merritt Island FL at 8:00 pm
- Destination: TIX Titusville FL
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 36, 7,319 ft by 150 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 270° at 6 knots
- Visibility: 7 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 3,000 ft
- Temperature: 81°F (27°C), dew point 70°F (21°C)
- Altimeter: 29.97 inHg
- Observation at 8:47 pm from TIX
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flight crew | 2 | |||
| 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.
Other NTSB records under N740FT the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
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.