# Incident 19960331038299I: Piper PA32R300, Lufkin, TX, March 31, 1996

- Type: FAA incident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: March 31, 1996, 18:30 local time
- Place: Lufkin, TX
- Airport: Angelina County Airport
- Damage: Minor damage
- Phase of flight: Fcd/Prec Ldg From Cruise
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 31.2340° N, 94.7500° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs at ANGELINA COUNTY (LFK), within about a mile (OpenAirDocs)
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=31.2340&lon=-94.7500&mi=10
- Aircraft: N4294P, registered now (https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N4294P) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Piper PA-32R-301T (registry code 7103220, https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa-32r-301t) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Lycoming TI0-540 series (registry code 41533, https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-ti0-540-series) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: PIPER PA32R300
- People aboard: 2
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Pilot flight hours: 430 total, 29 in this make and model, 29 in the last 90 days
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19960331038299I

## Narrative

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

NARRATIVE: ON MARCH 31, 1996, DR. GONZALEZ AND ONE PASSENGER DEPARTED AUSTIN LAKEWAY AIRPORT FOR LUFKIN, TEXAS AIRPORT. APPROXIMATELY 40 MILES FROM LUFKIN, HE ATTEMPTED TO CONTACT HOUSTON APPROACH FOR VFR FLIGHT FOLLOWING. AT THAT TIME, HE NOTICED THE RADIOS WERE NOT WORKING PROPERLY, AND ALL ELECTRICAL INSTRUMENTS WERE FLICKERING. UPON HIS APPROACH TO RUNWAY 33 IN LUFKIN, HE ATTEMPTED TO LOWER THE LANDING GEAR WITH THE NORMAL PROCEDURE, HOWEVER, HAD NO INDICATION IF THE LANDING GEAR WAS DOWN. HE THEN ENTERED THE TRAFFIC PATTERN AND EXTENDED THE LANDING GEAR WITH THE EMERGENCY PROCEDURE. AFTER SEVERAL ATTEMPTS TO TRY TO VERIFY IF THE LANDING GEAR WAS DOWN, HE DECIDED TO LAND. THE AIRCRAFT LANDED ON THE MAIN LANDING GEAR BUT AFTER THE AIRCRAFT SLOWED, THE PROPELLER STARTED HITTING THE GROUND. BOTH OCCUPANTS EXITED THE AIRCRAFT WITHOUT INJURIES. THE INITIAL INVESTIGATION REVEALED THAT THE ALTERNATOR BELT HAD BROKEN AT SOME POINT.

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.