C wrote:

Talking with the DER, we're pretty sure we figured out when this
happened. The only damage history on the plane was an "off-runway"
excursion back in '92. The logs show the nose gear collapsed, the
engine/cowl stuck, and of course a sudden engine stop. The logs show
the engine teardown/rebuild and replacing everything forward of the
firewall, but that's it. We're pretty sure the sudden rearward force
on the mains as it departed the runway flexed the rear of the wing
upward and caused this damage.

So you're saying the plane hit a berm or something. Or are cherokees so
cheaply built taking them off pavement one time causes them to crack apart?

Wish I could tell you! I don't have the logs here to give you what it
says verbatum, but it was something like:

"Off end runway excursion. Nose gear collapsed, prop and engine
struck, engine incurred sudden stop. Sent engine to PenYan for
teardown/inspection/build up. Replaced everything forward of firewall
with new or serviceable."

Apparently he didn't feel that the little damage to the frame member
was worth mentioning or repairing correctly. Admittedly, compared to
the mangled nose gear and cowl -- that tear in the aluminum frame
member would have seemed very minor. But it was still damaged and he
should have repaired it correctly -- instead of just sticking some
cherry-max rivets in it and ignoring it.

Oh, and "NO" -- Cherokees can handle "off-pavement" just fine. I've
had this and another Cherokee on soft fields many times with no
difficulty. But whatever this dufus did back in '92 was sufficiently
fast and violent to collapse the nose gear. So, I guess some damage
to the rear-wing-strut attachment point shouldn't be too surprising.



Chuck