Piper PA 46 350P incident near Tallahassee, Florida, October 8, 2013
On October 8, 2013 at about 4:10 pm local time, a 1990 Piper PA 46 350P, registered N640BD, suffered minor damage in an incident during landing (flare/touchdown) near Tallahassee, Florida (Tallahassee Rgnl airport). It was a business 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
The failure of the nose landing gear (NLG) actuator attachment bolt due to fatigue for reasons that could not be determined during postincident examination, which resulted in the NLG collapsing during landing.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- October 8, 2013 · about 4:10 pm local time
- Place
- Tallahassee, Florida · Tallahassee Rgnl · map
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA 46 350P JetProp, built 1990 · all PA 46 350Ps on the register
- Registration
- N640BD · registry record · serial 4622095
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Flight
- Business flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
After a normal takeoff for the business flight, the airline transport pilot retracted the landing gear; however, the red landing gear warning annunciator light remained illuminated. The pilot chose to divert the airplane to its base airport for landing. During the precautionary landing, the nose landing gear (NLG) collapsed, and the airplane sustained minor damage. Postincident examination of the NLG components revealed that the aft NLG actuator bolt had fractured at the upper attachment fitting from reverse-bending fatigue, which led to the subsequent collapse of the NLG. The head of the bolt was missing, which precluded verification of the bolt part number. However, the bolt had a drilled shank, which was inconsistent with the specified part number bolt. Although the bolt was not the correct part number, the bolt diameter in the grip and the hardness and material composition conformed to the required specifications; therefore, use of the incorrect part number bolt likely did not cause the fatigue cracking. The fracture and wear patterns on the bolt were consistent with some level of torque having been applied during installation; however, the preincident level of applied torque could not be determined; therefore, it could also not be determined whether inadequate torque on the bolt resulted in the fatigue initiation. Lastly, a tug was frequently used to move the airplane during ground operations, which would have placed additional stress on the NLG attachment; however, the effect of tug usage on the incident bolt could not be determined.
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
- Sys/Comp malf/fail (non-power) during initial climb
- Landing gear collapse during landing (flare/touchdown) defining event
The NTSB's findings
- cause Aircraft › Aircraft systems › Landing gear system › Nose/tail gear attach section › Fatigue/wear/corrosion
- cause Aircraft › Aircraft systems › Landing gear system › Nose/tail gear attach section › Failure
Pilot
- Certificate: airline transport pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 17,103 hours in all; 6,256 in this make and model; 60 in the last 90 days; 25 in the last 30 days; 16,000 as pilot in command
- Last flight review: January 12, 2013
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (with waivers/limitations)
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 4,576 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, January 20, 2013; 55 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 4,299 lb
- Seats: 6
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-34 (turboprop); 2,848 hours total
- Operator: Municipal Code CORP
The flight
- Departed from: SRQ Sarasota FL at 2:50 pm
- Destination: GPT Gulfport MS
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 36, 6,076 ft by 150 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 040° at 6 knots
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 79°F (26°C), dew point 66°F (19°C)
- Altimeter: 29.95 inHg
- Observation at 3:53 pm from TLH
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flight crew | 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 ERA14IA019.