Piper PA44 accident near Miami, Florida, May 23, 2015
On May 23, 2015 at about 8:05 pm local time, a 1978 Piper PA44, registered N2163F, was substantially damaged in an accident during landing (landing roll) near Miami, Florida (Miami Executive 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).
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The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The failure of the nose landing gear upper drag link knee bolt due to reverse-bending fatigue, which was likely preceded by excessive bearing wear due to reasons that could not be determined based on the available evidence.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- May 23, 2015 · about 8:05 pm local time
- Place
- Miami, Florida · Miami Executive · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 3 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA44 180, built 1978 · all PA44s on the register
- Registration
- N2163F · registry record · serial 44-7995167
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The flight instructor reported that the student pilot's approach and landing during the instructional flight were normal. During the landing roll, the nose landing gear (NLG) collapsed, which resulted in structural damage to the airframe. Examination of the NLG revealed that an upper drag link and associated knee bolt were broken. Subsequent examination of the upper drag link revealed that it had failed due to overstress; however, the knee bolt had failed due to reverse-bending fatigue from relatively high-cyclic stresses. Given the failure location, it is likely that excessive wear in the bearing preceded the bolt failure. The airplane manufacturer had issued a service bulletin applicable to the accident airplane, which recommended the inspection of the NLG drag link assembly and replacement of the associated knee bolt at 500-hour intervals. Further, the Federal Aviation Administration subsequently issued a special airworthiness bulletin, which recommended that the NLG drag link assembly inspection and knee bolt replacement interval be reduced to 400 hours time in service (TIS) for airplanes that experienced greater-than-normal landing cycles per flight hour, including airplanes used for flight school operations like the accident airplane. A review of the airplane's maintenance records revealed that the failed knee bolt was replaced about 386 hours TIS before the accident. Although the records indicated that the flight school followed the 500-hour interval not the 400-hour interval, the bolt had been replaced at less hours TIS than the recommended interval; therefore, the reason for the premature excessive wear 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
- Landing gear collapse during landing (landing roll) defining event
The NTSB's findings
- cause Aircraft › Aircraft systems › Landing gear system › Gear extension and retract sys › Fatigue/wear/corrosion
- cause Aircraft › Aircraft systems › Landing gear system › Gear extension and retract sys › Failure
- Not determined › Not determined › (general) › (general) › Unknown/Not determined
Dual student
- Certificate: private
- Ratings: single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 253 hours in all; 20 in this make and model; 20 in the last 90 days; 7 in the last 30 days; 135 as pilot in command
- Last flight review: April 6, 2015
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (with waivers/limitations)
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
Flight instructor
- Certificate: airline transport pilot, flight instructor
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 4,600 hours in all; 125 in this make and model; 210 in the last 90 days; 90 in the last 30 days; 3,800 as pilot in command; 3,000 on instruments
- Last flight review: August 3, 2013
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (without waivers/limitations)
- Seat: rgt
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 10,354 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, May 20, 2015
- Maximum gross weight: 3,800 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine 1: Lycoming O-360 SER (piston); 0 hours total
- Engine 2: Lycoming O-360 SER (piston); 0 hours total
- Operator: Pilot Training Center LLC
The flight
- Departed from: OBE West Palm Beach FL at 7:30 pm
- Destination: TMB Miami FL
- Flight plan: VFR
- Runway 09R, 5,999 ft by 150 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 110° at 12 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 3,700 ft
- Temperature: 90°F (32°C), dew point 72°F (22°C)
- Altimeter: 30.14 inHg
- Observation at 7:53 pm from TMB
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flig | 2 | |||
| Passengers | 1 |
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 ERA15LA225.