# Incident 20200629010249I: Piper PA-23-160, Colorado Spring, CO, June 29, 2020

- Type: FAA incident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: June 29, 2020, 08:45 local time
- Place: Colorado Spring, CO
- Damage: Minor damage
- Phase of flight: Takeoff: Climb Out
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 38.8339° N, 104.8214° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs: center of Colorado Springs, CO, within about 8 miles (OpenAirDocs)
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=38.8339&lon=-104.8214&mi=10
- Aircraft: N6918D, registered now (https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N6918D) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Piper PA-23-160 (registry code 7102304, https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa-23-160) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Lycoming O&VO-360 series (registry code 41514, https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-o-vo-360-series) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: PIPER PA-23-160
- Reported engine: LYCOMING O&VO-360 SER
- People aboard: 2
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Other injuries: 0
- Pilot certificates: Commercial pilot, flight instructor
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20200629010249I

## Narrative

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

ON 06/29/2020, AIRCRAFT N6918D, DURING CLIMB OUT AT APPROXIMATELY 400 FEET AGL,  THE DETERMINATION WAS TO MAKE AN EMERGENCY LANDING OPPOSITE DIRECTION ON RUNWAY 35R. THE LANDING GEAR HANDLE WAS EXTENDED. AT THE TIME OF GROUND CONTACT ONLY TWO LANDING GEAR GREEN FOLLOWING A NORMAL TAKEOFF, EXPERIENCED A LEFT YAW WITH AN ASSOCIATED VIBRATION. THE FLIGHT INSTRUCTOR TOOK CONTROL OF THE AIRCRAFT, ASSESSED THE SITUATION, SHUTDOWN AND FEATHERED THE LEFT ENGINE IN AN EFFORT TO MAXIMIZE PERFORMANCE.LIGHTS WERE INDICATING. BOTH MAIN GEAR WERE FULLY DOWN AND LOCKED BUT THE FRONT GEAR DID NOT HAVE ENOUGH TIME TO GET DOWN & LOCKED. AT GROUND CONTACT THE FRONT LANDING GEAR COLLAPSED UNDER THE AIRCRAFT AND THE NOSE OF THE AIRCRAFT IMPACTED THE GROUND. AT THE TIME OF THE INCIDENT THERE WERE TWO SOLES ON BOARD. BOTH OCCUPANTS WERE NOT INJURED DURING THIS EVENT AND REQUIRED NO MEDICAL TREATMENT. THE AIRCRAFT SUSTAINED LESS THEN SUBSTANTIAL DAMAGE AND THIS EVENT WAS LATER DETERMINED TO QUALIFY AS AN AIRCRAFT INCIDENT.

## Other reports on N6918D (1)

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

- [Incident 19881113057949I](https://openairdocs.org/incident/19881113057949I), Nov 13, 1988: Piper PA28161 (N6918D), Whitney, TX, Minor damage. Hit 2 powerlines while flying low over river. Returned to airport. Damage to propeller and landing gear.

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.
