# Incident 20210127001889I: Piper PA-31-325, Palm Beach, FL, January 27, 2021

- Type: FAA incident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: January 27, 2021, 19:38 local time
- Place: Palm Beach, FL
- Airport: Palm Beach International
- Damage: Minor damage
- Phase of flight: Takeoff: Climb Out
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 26.6948° N, 80.0419° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs: center of Palm Beach, FL, within about 6 miles (OpenAirDocs)
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=26.6948&lon=-80.0419&mi=10
- Aircraft: N59948, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N59948-2023-07-18) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Piper PA-31-325 (registry code 7103105, https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa-31-325) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Lycoming TI0-540 series (registry code 41533, https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-ti0-540-series) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: PIPER PA-31-325
- Reported engine: LYCOMING TI0-540 SER
- People aboard: 4
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Other injuries: 0
- Pilot certificates: Airline transport
- Pilot flight hours: 2,615 total
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20210127001889I

## Narrative

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

AIRCRAFT DEPARTED F45 AT 2000 LOCAL ON 1/27/2021 AND HAD RED LANDING GEAR UNSAFE LIGHT ON RETRACTION. SEVERAL ATTEMPTS WERE MADE TO EXTEND AND RETRACT GEAR USING BOTH THE NORMAL SYSTEM AND ALSO BY USING THE EMERGENCY LANDING GEAR EXTENSION HAND HYDRAULIC PUMP, BUT UNSAFE LIGHT REMAINED ILLUMINATED.

THE PILOT DECLARED AN EMERGENCY AND DIVERTED TO PBI. PBI TOWER NOTED THE NOSE AND LEFT MAIN GEAR WERE NOT EXTENDED.  AIRCRAFT FLEW A PATTERN TO REDUCE FUEL AND THEN LANDED AT 2138 LOCAL ON RUNWAY 28R. THE RIGHT MAIN GEAR COLLAPSED ON LANDING.

THERE WERE NO FUEL, OIL OR HYDRAULIC SPILLS NOTED ON THE AIRFRAME.

THERE WAS NO FIRE, AND NO INJURIES TO THE PILOT OR THREE PASSENGERS. BOTH PROPELLERS HAD TIPS CURLED BACKWARDS. THERE WAS NO DAMAGE TO THE WINGS OR TAIL.

THE AIRCRAFT WAS LIFTED AND PLACED ON A WHEELED PLATFORM TO CLEAR THE ACTIVE RUNWAY.

ON 2/3/2021 AT 0800 LOCAL THE AIRCRAFT WAS LIFTED FROM THE WHEELED PLATFORM. THE LANDING GEAR LEGS WERE INTACT AND MECHANICALLY LOCKED IN THE DOWN POSITION. THE DAMAGE TO THE CENTRAL BELLY AREA WAS MOSTLY TO ANTENNAE AND DRAIN TUBES. THERE WAS NO ENGINE FIREWALL DAMAGE. THE OVERALL DAMAGE ASSESSED TO BE MINOR AND THE EVENT IS CLASSIFIED AS AN INCIDENT.

THE HYDRAULIC RESERVOIR SIGHT GLASS SHOWED NO SIGNS OF FLUID WITHIN. THE SIGHT GLASS WAS REMOVED BY MAINTENANCE PERSONNEL AND THERE WAS NO FLUID FLOWING OUT OF THE OPEN ORIFICE. THERE WERE NO SIGNS OF FLUID LEAKS OR SPILLS ADJACENT TO THE HYDRAULIC TANK OR ON VISIBLE AREAS OF THE AIRFRAME.

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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