Premium research interface

The modern interface for aviation safety intelligence.

Search investigations, review source evidence, monitor watched reports, and trace long-term patterns from one calm, data-first workspace.

63k+
Reports indexed
1940-2026
Coverage
Recent
Last data refresh
Featured Report

Loading…

Loading featured report…

Loading…
Open Report

Safety trends by operating rule

Track fatal and non-fatal accident patterns across Part 91, Part 135, and Part 121 operations.

Loading trend charts…

Browse the aviation graph

Move quickly by aircraft, airport, operator, and time with indexes built for research, not wandering.

Last Data Update

By Decade

By Month

Aircraft Manufacturer

More manufacturers

Airports

More airports

Operators

More operators

About

Aviation safety reports, made easier to study

NTSB Reports is an independent research and search tool for public aviation accident and incident records. It brings NTSB aviation reports, structured fields, docket files, extracted figures, photos, videos, and update history into one searchable interface.

The goal is practical safety education: make it faster to find relevant investigations, compare similar events, review factual records, and understand the evidence behind probable-cause and preliminary reports.

The investigative work and source records belong to the National Transportation Safety Board and the published investigation record. This site is not affiliated with or endorsed by the NTSB.

FAQs

NTSB Report

September 5, 2024 · Piper PA-28R 200 · N4081S

Crystal, MN

Overview

Report Status
Final with probable cause
Event Type
Accident
Date
September 5, 2024
Injury Outcomes
No injuries (1 uninjured)
Location
Crystal, MN
Aircraft
Piper PA-28R 200 (1974)
Tail Number
N4081S
Injuries
None
Aircraft Damage
Substantial
NTSB Number
CEN24LA342

During the landing flare, the airplane encountered a gust of wind, climbed about 3 ft, and landed on the runway centerline. The pilot described the landing as firm, but not hard. The airplane was refueled and returned to the hangar with no issues. The next day, the pilot’s son flew the airplane. The pilot’s son performed a preflight inspection with no anomalies noted. After the takeoff, he retracted the landing gear, and he noticed that the “gear in transit” light stayed illuminated. He extended the landing gear, and all three green landing gear lights were illuminated. The pilot’s son landed back at the airport and taxied back to the hangar with no issues. The following day, the pilot’s son flew the airplane to another airport to have a mechanic inspect it. A postflight inspection by the mechanic revealed that the engine mount had fractured at the nose gear attachment point. The airplane’s engine mount sustained substantial damage. Postaccident examination revealed that the engine mount likely failed under normal operating loads due to the fracture of a vertical tube that was weakened by corrosion and fatigue cracks. The corrosion occurred on the interior surface of the vertical tube, likely due to the presence of water and greasy deposits at the lower end of the tube. Although the corrosion damage had likely been developing for an extended time, it would not have been detectable by visual inspection. The corrosion damage included a loss of wall thickness that increased the average stress in the remaining cross-section, and local stresses were further increased by rough surfaces and pits that formed during the corrosion process. As a result, fatigue cracks initiated and grew from multiple origins at the corroded surface. Although the total extent of fatigue cracking could not be determined due to post-fracture damage, it is likely that the tube was weakened sufficiently from the combination of wall thickness loss and fatigue crack growth to cause failure under normal loading conditions. The corrosion and fatigue cracks at the lower end of the tube were secondary to another failure that could not be determined from the examined pieces. Although an incomplete weld or service damage such as a crack or hole in the tube could have allowed water to seep into the tube bore, causing the tube to corrode from the inside out, no such anomalies or cracks were observed below the cut location.

NTSB Probable Cause

The failure of the engine mount under normal operating loads due to the fracture of a vertical tube that was weakened by corrosion and fatigue of the internal surfaces.

Full Narrative

On September 4, 2024, about 1950 central daylight time, a Piper PA-28R-200 airplane, N4081S, sustained substantial damage when it was involved in an accident near Crystal, Minnesota. The pilot was uninjured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. The pilot performed a preflight inspection on the airplane with no anomalies noted. The airplane departed from the Crystal Airport (MIC), Crystal, Minnesota, for a local area flight. As the pilot returned to MIC, he completed the before-landing checklist and was cleared to land by air traffic control. During the landing flare, the airplane encountered a gust of wind, climbed about 3 ft, and landed on the runway centerline. The pilot described the landing as firm, but not hard. The airplane was refueled and returned to the hangar with no issues. The next day, the pilot’s son flew the airplane. He performed a preflight inspection with no anomalies noted. After takeoff, he retracted the landing gear and noticed that the “gear in transit” light stayed illuminated. He extended the landing gear, and all three green landing gear lights were illuminated. The pilot’s son landed back to MIC and taxied back to the hangar with no issues. The following day, the pilot’s son flew the airplane from MIC to the Rochester International Airport (RST), Rochester, Minnesota, to have a mechanic inspect it. The pilot’s son flew the airplane from MIC to RST with the landing gear extended the whole flight and landed and taxied at RST without incident. A post-flight inspection by the mechanic revealed a fractured engine mount at the nose gear attachment point. The airplane’s engine mount, Piper part number 67119-57, sustained substantial damage. The engine mount was not serialized. Postaccident examination of the engine mount revealed that the fracture surface generally showed substantial damage from oxidation and post-fracture contact. Greasy deposits were observed covering the black painted surfaces over most of the fractured tube’s exterior surface. On the interior of the fractured tube, an accumulation of greasy, mostly black deposits of corrosion products and other debris was observed inside the tube piece. Areas with relatively flat features in planes perpendicular to the tube axis were observed in several locations, mostly on the left half of the fracture. Additional features including radial lines and ratchet marks were also observed in these areas emanating from the interior edge of the fracture. These fracture features were consistent with fatigue initiating from corrosion pits at the interior surface of the tube. Each fatigue region had multiple origins. The fatigue regions appeared to extend through the wall thickness on the aft left and forward left portions of the fracture. At the forward right side of the fracture, the fatigue region extended part way through the thickness. An area on the left side of the fracture was smeared from post-fracture damage, so the fracture mechanism was undetermined in that area. The remainder of the fracture surface outside of the fatigue boundary and to the right of the fatigue regions had rough features on slant angles consistent with ductile overstress fracture. At the time of the accident, the airframe, which was manufactured in 1974, had accumulated 3,711 hours. The most recent annual inspection on the airframe was completed on November 8, 2023.

Flight

Event TypeAccident
Event Time19:50 CDT
Nearest AirportCRYSTAL (0nm SE)
Runway14/3
Runway Length3751 ft
Runway Width75 ft
Flight Plan FiledNone
Aircraft FireNo
Aircraft ExplosionNo

Aircraft

AircraftPiper PA-28R 200
Tail NumberN4081S
Aircraft CategoryAir
DamageSubstantial
Operating RulePart 91
Engines1
Engine TypeReciprocating
Engine DetailsLycoming Engines · IO-360-C1C · Reciprocating · 200
Seats4

People & Injuries

Injury SummaryNo injuries (1 uninjured)
Fatal0
Serious0
Minor0
Uninjured1
Total1
Crew 1Age 63 · Third Class · None

Conditions

ConditionsVMC
LightDaylight
Wind160° @ 10 kt
Visibility10 sm
CeilingNone
Temperature / Dew Point57 F
Altimeter30.03 inHg
Observation Time19:53
Weather SourceWFAC

Appendix: Source Data