Piper PA-23E-250 N900TS
26 August 1986 · Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States · No injuries
Summary
On 26 August 1986 at about 20:35 local time, a Piper PA-23E-250 registered N900TS, operated by James Kenney, was involved in an accident near Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States. 6 people were on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. No probable cause statement is available for this record.
The record
- Date
- at 20:35
- Classification
- Accident
- Location
- Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States
- Nearest airport
- Grand Forks-Mark Andrews (GFK)
- Coordinates
- 47.9101, -97.0706
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-23E-250
- Registration
- N900TS
- Category
- Airplane
- Engines
- 2
- Operator
- James Kenney
- Operating rule
- Part 91: General Aviation
- Purpose of flight
- Personal
- Phase of flight
- Not recorded
- Route
- Unknown → Mason City
- Aircraft damage
- Substantial
- Weather
- VMC
- Light
- Day
- NTSB number
- DEN86LA239
People
Nobody was injured.
| On board | Died | Serious | Minor | Uninjured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
Probable cause
The NTSB has not published a probable cause for this record. No probable cause statement is present in the source data.
Nothing about the cause is stated here that is not in the source record.
Read the full NTSB narrative
THE ACFT WAS EN ROUTE FROM FLIN FLON AIRPORT, MANITOBA, CD, TO MASON CITY, IA, AND HAD STOPPED AT GRAND FORKS, ND, FOR FUEL AND TO CLEAR CUSTOMS. DURING TAXI FOR TAKEOFF, THE ACFT STRUCK A 1-INCH CONCRETE LIP ON THE RAMP AND THE RIGHT MAIN LANDING GEAR COLLAPSED. POST ACCIDENT EXAMINATION REVEALED THE ACTUATOR ROD END WAS BENT AND ONE OF FOUR SPRINGS ON THE OVERCENTER CAM DEVICE WAS DETACHED FROM ITS PROPER ATTACH POINT AND WAS EXCESSIVELY STRETCHED. WITH THE ACFT ON JACKS THE SPRING WAS REATTACHED AND THE GEAR WAS EXTENDED, TRAPPING THE SPRING BETWEEN THE DOWNLOCK SWITCH AND THE DOWNLOCK OVERCENTER MECHANISM. WITH SOME WEIGHT APPLIED TO THE LANDING GEAR, A FIRM UPWARD PRESSURE WAS APPLIED TO THE OVERCENTER DEVICE AND THE RIGHT MAIN LANDING GEAR RETRACTED. FURTHER TESTS REVEALED THAT THE LANDING GEAR SELECTOR HANDLE DID NOT ALWAYS CATCH THE SAFETY LATCH WHEN PLACED IN THE NEUTRAL POSITION, AND THAT IT WAS POSSIBLE FOR THE SELECTOR TO GO FROM DOWN TO UP WITHOUT TRIGGERING THE LATCH.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.
Other Piper PA-23E accidents
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 Oct 1978 | Piper PA-23E | Little Rock, Arkansas, United States | J W Benafield | No injuries | - |
| 8 Jun 1974 | Piper PA-23E | Cresson, Texas, United States | Air Ventures, I | Fatal | 6 |
| 19 May 1999 | Piper PA-23E-250 | Tucumcari, New Mexico, United States | - | Fatal | 2 |
Other accidents in this area
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 Oct 1986 | Piper PA-32R-301T | Grafton, North Dakota, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 27 Oct 1986 | Cessna 172M | Richardton, North Dakota, United States | - | Serious injuries | - |
| 3 Jan 1986 | Bellanca 7ECA | Hope, North Dakota, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 4 Jan 1986 | Cessna 150H | West Fargo, North Dakota, United States | Gary R. Weber | No injuries | - |
| 13 Jan 1986 | Cessna 172P | Fargo, North Dakota, United States | Ronald M. Whaley | No injuries | - |
| 27 Feb 1986 | Cessna 150L | Watford City, North Dakota, United States | - | No injuries | - |