# Incident 19960323004969I: Piper PA30, Springdale, AR, March 23, 1996

- Type: FAA incident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: March 23, 1996, 15:30 local time
- Place: Springdale, AR
- Airport: Springdale Municipal Airport
- Damage: Substantial damage
- Phase of flight: Level Off Touchdown
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 36.1764° N, 94.1192° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs at SPRINGDALE MUNI (ASG), within about a mile (OpenAirDocs)
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=36.1764&lon=-94.1192&mi=10
- Aircraft: N7781Y, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N7781Y-2012-11-13) (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
- Reported engine: LYC IO320B1A
- People aboard: 3
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Pilot flight hours: 800 total, 300 in this make and model, 12 in the last 90 days
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19960323004969I

## Narrative

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

NARRATIVE: HISTORY OF FLIGHT: ON MARCH 22, 1996 A PIPER PA-30, N7781Y, DEPARTED CAPE GIRARDEAU, MO. VFR FOR SPRINGDALE, AR WITH PILOT IN COMMAND MR. STEVE ROBERT SMITH. AT THE RAZORBACK VOR MR. SMITH WAS RELEASED FROM FLIGHT FOLLOWING AND CLEARED VFR TO SPRINGDALE MUNICIPAL AIRPORT. UPON APPROACH MR. SMITH SELECTED GEAR DOWN AND INDICATED HE HEARD THE GEAR OPERATING, WHEN THROTTLES WERE RETARDED, THE WARNING HORN SOUNDED. MR. SMITH INDICATED HE THOUGHT IT WAS THE STALL WARNING HORN, BUT AFTER FURTHER INVESTIGATING REALIZED IT TO BE THE LANDING GEAR UNSAFE HORN, MR. SMITH INDICATED HE WAS TOO LOW TO MAKE A GO AROUND AND DECIDED TO LAND. UPON CONTACT THE GEAR COLLAPSED AND THE AIRCRAFT SLID TO A STOP. DAMAGE TO AIRCRAFT: MINOR DAMAGE TO THE BELLY SKIN, LANDING GEAR TORQUE TUBES WERE BROKEN AND TWISTED, PROPELLERS WERE SEVERELY DAMAGED. TEST AND RESEARCH: INSPECTION OF THE AIRCRAFT REVEALED THE LANDING GEAR CIRCUIT BREAKER HAD POPPED. AFTER SPEAKING WITH THE PILOT AND THE MAINTENANCE FINDING, I FEEL THE PILOT MADE THE APPROACH WITH OUT FLAPS AND THE VFR SPEED WAS EXCEEDED. WHEN THE GEAR WAS SELECTED, THE GEAR STARTED OUT BUT THE AIR LOAD ON THE GEAR CAUSED THE BREAKER TO POP, GIVING THE GEAR UNSAFE HORN. THE PILOT IN COMMAND FAILED TO APPLY EMERGENCY PROCEDURES AND LANDED WITH THE GEAR UNSAFE AND NOT DOWN AND LOCKED. ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^ THIS INCIDENT IS CLOSED.

## Other reports on N7781Y (1)

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

- [Accident 20091210053219A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20091210053219A), Dec 10, 2009: Piper PA-30 (N7781Y), Port Mansfield, TX, Destroyed, 2 fatal. Pilot departed VFR from sun ray, TX for Port Mansfield (T05), a four hour flight. An IFR flight plan was air-filed enroute. Pilot requested a desent to minimum…

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.

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