Primary finding
Probable cause
The pilot's improper landing flare, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall and hard landing.
Investigator assessment
Analysis narrative
The private pilot reported that he flew a normal approach; however, he initiated the landing flare too high. The airplane subsequently stalled and dropped about 10 ft, which caused the nose landing gear to collapse and damaged the forward pressure bulkhead. The pilot stated that he had verified that the landing gear were down and locked before landing, and reported that the accident was "not caused by any apparent mechanical failures."
Source record
Factual narrative
On September 2, 2019, about 1020 central daylight time, a Piper PA-60 Aerostar airplane, N1R, sustained substantial damage during a hard landing on runway 36L at Tulsa International Airport (TUL), Tulsa, Oklahoma. The pilot and passenger were not injured. The nose landing gear collapsed which resulted in damage to the forward pressure bulkhead. The airplane was registered to CBU Aviation LLC and operated by the pilot as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the airport, and the flight was operated on an instrument flight rules flight plan. The flight originated from Rogers Executive Airport (ROG), Rogers, Arkansas, about 0945 and was destined for TUL. The pilot reported flying a normal approach to runway 36L; however, he initiated the landing flare too high. The airplane subsequently stalled and dropped about 10 ft which caused the nose landing gear to collapse. The airplane came to rest on an adjacent taxiway. He had verified that the landing gear was down and locked (three green indicator panel lights) before landing. He stated the accident was "not caused by any apparent mechanical failures."