Piper PA-31 N41185

Summary

On 8 July 2006 at about 17:40 local time, a Piper PA-31 registered N41185, operated by Everts Air Alaska, was involved in an accident near Fairbanks, Alaska, United States. One person was on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

8 July 2006 at 17:40

Classification

Accident

Location

Fairbanks, Alaska, United States

Nearest airport

Fairbanks (PAFA)

Coordinates

64.8153, -147.8564

Aircraft

Piper PA-31

Registration

N41185

Category

Airplane

Engines

2

Operator

Everts Air Alaska

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Other Work Use

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Fairbanks → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ANC06LA093

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's inadvertent landing with the landing gear retracted, which resulted in structural damage to the airplane.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

The airline transport certificated pilot was conducting a maintenance test flight related to the airplane's navigation instrumentation under Title 14, CFR Part 91. In a written statement the pilot reported that when he returned from the maintenance flight the tower asked him to expedite the landing due to traffic. He said he put the flaps and gear down, and checked the nose gear in a mirror on the left engine. He indicated that in the mirror, the nose gear appeared to be "extending in a normal manner." He reported that upon touchdown all 3 landing gear collapsed. The director of operations said the airplane was taken to a maintenance facility where landing gear extension and retraction tests were performed, and no anomalies were noted. Photographs provided by the operator showed no damage to the left or right main landing gear tires, wheels, or landing gear leg doors. The photographs do show abrasions and scratches parallel to the fuselage's longitudinal axis on the exterior of both the left and right main landing gear wheel doors, consistent with ground contact in the closed (gear retracted) position. An additional photograph showed abrasions and scratches on the exterior of both nose wheel doors parallel to the longitudinal axis of the fuselage. In a written statement the operator suggested that the gear unsafe horn should be wired through the audio panel, so as to be more easily heard by pilots wearing noise attenuating headsets. The airplane received structural damage to the bottom of the fuselage, stringers, and bulkheads.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.