Piper PA-30 N1236

Summary

On 28 December 2020 at about 22:00 local time, a Piper PA-30 registered N1236 was involved in an accident near Navasota, Texas, 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

28 December 2020 at 22:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Navasota, Texas, United States

Nearest airport

Navasota Muni (60R)

Coordinates

30.3732, -96.1145

Aircraft

Piper PA-30

Registration

N1236

Category

Airplane

Year built

1966

Engines

2

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN21LA105

Nobody was injured.

The pilot’s failure to extend the landing gear before landing.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot reported that he recently purchased the accident airplane to transition from large airplanes back to small airplanes. He conducted a normal, uneventful flight. When he approached the airport to land, he went through the “GUMP” checklist twice. However, when the airplane touched down onto the runway the landing gear was retracted which resulted in substantial damage to the underlying structure of the lower fuselage. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation During a postaccident telephone conversation, the pilot mentioned that he accidentally merged the “GUMPS” check with a checklist he commonly used for large airplanes. He further reported that the airplane was not equipped with a landing gear horn, therefore, he was not alerted of the unsafe landing gear condition. He further stated that a landing gear warning horn will be installed on the airplane during the repair process.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.