The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has issued a preliminary report on an accident involving a Piaggio P.180 Avanti aircraft at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood Airport (FLL) earlier this month. The aircraft, registered to and operated by Avantair, was "substantially damaged" in the accident. The two crew were the only people on board at the time of the accident. Neither was injured.The twin turboprop aircraft, which was operating under CFR Part 91 rules, was being repositioned from Teterboro to FLL at the time of the accident on the morning of March 20, 2007. The gear collapsed on landing.
The NTSB preliminary accident report provides these details:
According to the captain, the first officer was flying the airplane. They were landing on 9R at an approach speed of 120kts. Full flaps had been deployed.An estimated 50 gallons of fuel leaked from the airplane, but there was no fire. The NTSB report notes that protein foam was applied to the runway surface and surrounding area.
On the landing roll the airplane began to drift to the left side of the runway. The first officer said he applied right rudder, but not to the extent necessary. He then applied right brakes. The airplane then veered right and the left main landing gear collapsed. The airplane skidded down the runway and came to rest west of taxiway Echo.
Examination of the airplane revealed the left main landing gear had collapsed, the left main tire had separated, and fuel was leaking from the airplane onto the runway. Examination of the tire revealed it had been deflated and there was a bald spot in the tread. [NTSB Report DEN07LA077].
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