# Incident 19781103024089I: Piper PA30, Fresno, CA, November 3, 1978

- Type: FAA incident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: November 3, 1978, 14:15 local time
- Place: Fresno, CA
- Airport: Fresno Air Termin
- Phase of flight: Normal Cruise
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 36.7477° N, 119.7724° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs: center of Fresno, CA, within about 6 miles (OpenAirDocs)
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=36.7477&lon=-119.7724&mi=10
- Aircraft: N8176Y, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N8176Y-2022-01-08) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Piper PA-30 (registry code 7103002, https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa-30) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Lycoming IO-320 series (registry code 41509, https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-io-320-series) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: PIPER PA30
- People aboard: 1
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Pilot flight hours: 4,000 total, 200 in this make and model, 0 in the last 90 days
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19781103024089I

## Narrative

As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^.

ENGINE QUIT ON APPROACH. GEAR HAD TO BE MANUALLY EXTENDED. FOUND DEBRIS IN FUEL SYSTEM. GEAR BREAKER POPPED.

## Other reports on N8176Y (3)

Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.

- [Incident 19920420013739I](https://openairdocs.org/incident/19920420013739I), Apr 20, 1992: Piper PA30 (N8176Y), Norfolk, VA. Pilot encountered deteriorating weather. Not instrument rated. Vectored to airport for safe landing.
- [Accident 19800226003679A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/19800226003679A), Feb 26, 1980: Piper PA30 (N8176Y), Fresno, CA, Substantial damage. Engine sputtered at liftoff. Aircraft veered off runway in climb. Other engine lost power. Aborted. Water in fuel.
- [Incident 19780614045819I](https://openairdocs.org/incident/19780614045819I), Jun 14, 1978: Piper PA30 (N8176Y), Lovelock, NV, Minor damage. Gear retracted after touchdown. Copilot instructed to retract flaps immediately, may have raised gear instead.

From the FAA Accident/Incident Data System. Reports are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. For accidents, the NTSB's own investigation is the fuller record.

---
OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.