NTSB Factual Report

On February 10, 2014, at 1630 central standard time, a Piper PA 46-350P, N350AR, veered off the runway and impacted a snow bank during landing at Marion Airport (C17), Marion, Iowa. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the firewall. The pilot and passenger were uninjured. The airplane was registered to Adobe Construction Inc. and operated by the pilot under 14 CFR Part 91. The flight was operating on an instrument rules flight plan. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The flight originated from Page Field Airport (FMY), Fort Myers, Florida and was destined to C17.

The pilot stated that he flew a 3-mile final visual approach to runway 35 (3,775 x 100 feet, asphalt/turf), which was "mostly fry with patchy compacted snow." When the nose wheel touched down during landing, there was a "violent pulling" to the left. The pilot applied right rudder/right brake but was unable to keep the airplane from veering left and into a 2-foot high snow bank that was located several feet off the runway.

Photos of runway 35 showed that a mark consistent with a path made by a landing gear wheel traversed off the right side of the runway's asphalt surface and through a snow-covered gravel edge. This mark within the snow was paralleled by a skid mark on the asphalt surface. Both marks then curved as skid marks off the left side of the runway and into a snow bank where the airplane rested with a collapsed nose wheel landing gear.

Fractured pieces from the nose landing gear actuator attachment area of the engine mount were optically examined in the National Transportation Safety Board Materials Laboratory. The examinations revealed features and deformation pattern on the multiple fractures that were consistent with overstress separations. No indications of pre-existing cracking or corrosion were observed.

NTSB Probable Cause

The pilot’s failure to attain a touchdown on the runway’s hard surface, which resulted in a loss of directional control.