# Accident 19970704020119A: Piper PA31T, Spicewood, TX, July 4, 1997

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: July 4, 1997, 08:30 local time
- Place: Spicewood, TX
- Airport: Austin Air Ranch Airport
- Damage: Substantial damage
- Phase of flight: Go Round (Aborted VFR)
- Operating rules: Air taxi and commuter (Part 135)
- Operator: OH7A
- Location: 30.4736° N, 98.1215° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs at Austin Air Ranch Airport (88R), within about a mile (OpenAirDocs)
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=30.4736&lon=-98.1215&mi=10
- Aircraft: N974DC, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N974DC-2003-12-10) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Piper PA-31T (registry code 7103124, https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa-31t) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-60A (registry code 52043, https://openairdocs.org/engine/pratt-whitney-canada-pt6a-60a) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: PIPER PA31T
- Reported engine: PWA PT6A28
- People aboard: 2
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Pilot flight hours: 2,800 total, 125 in this make and model
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB FTW97LA253](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/FTW97LA253) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19970704020119A

## Narrative

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

LANDED AT WRONG AIRPORT. DEPARTED. FAILED EXTEND GEAR. PROPS HIT, BEGAN GO AROUND LATE. HIT A HANGAR. (-23) ATTEMPTED LANDING TO THE SOUTH AND DID NOT PUT GEAR DOWN. LOST CONTROL OF AIRPLANE AND SKIDDED THROUGH GRASS AND CRASHED INTO A HANGAR.

## The NTSB's investigation of this event (1)

From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.

- [NTSB FTW97LA253](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/FTW97LA253), Jul 4, 1997: Piper PA-31T (N974DC), Austin, TX, substantial damage. Probable cause: the pilot's failure to extend the landing gear. A factor relating to the accident was: the pilot's failure to follow the landing checklist.

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.