20260511004619I

Incident · Minor damage

FAA incident report · Lake LA250 · Palo Alto, CA · May 11, 2026

Date
May 11, 2026 · 17:25 local
Place
Palo Alto, CA
Airport
Palo Alto Airport
Phase of flight
Landing: Rollout
Operating rules
General operating rules (Part 91)
Damage
Minor damage
Aircraft
N83VV
Reported as
Lake LA250
Reported engine
Lycoming IO-540 series
People aboard
1
Fatal injuries
0
Other injuries
0
Pilot’s certificate
Airline transport
Pilot’s flight hours
16,000 total

From the FAA’s Accident/Incident Data System (AIDS), through its Aviation Safety Information Portal, as reported. The NTSB investigates accidents separately, and its record of an accident is the fuller one. The aircraft is matched to the registry 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.

What happened

The FAA’s narrative, in sentence case. The FAA writes it in capitals and removes private details.

Aircraft VFR arrival to kpao, flying the profile of GPS 31 approach (straight it to 31). Pilot said normal pre-landing checks completed, gear down, green light, 3 wheels visually confirmed and hydraulic pressure up. Normal landing was executed in the touchdown zone. On rollout, after cresting a hump in the runway (kpao runway is built on bayland fill and is not flat, there are multiple large undulations), the left main gear collapsed and the left wing float contacted the runway. Aircraft veered left and came to rest between the centerline and the left edge of runway, between twy b and c. pilot shut down the engine and master switch. Pilot said the gear handle appeared down, but hydraulic pressure was indicating zero. When the pilot turned the switches back on and pressed the gear handle down, it moved slightly further down and saw hydraulic pressure coming back up.

As the FAA filed it

AIRCRAFT VFR ARRIVAL TO KPAO, FLYING THE PROFILE OF GPS 31 APPROACH (STRAIGHT IT TO 31). PILOT SAID NORMAL PRE-LANDING CHECKS COMPLETED, GEAR DOWN, GREEN LIGHT, 3 WHEELS VISUALLY CONFIRMED AND HYDRAULIC PRESSURE UP. NORMAL LANDING WAS EXECUTED IN THE TOUCHDOWN ZONE. ON ROLLOUT, AFTER CRESTING A HUMP IN THE RUNWAY (KPAO RUNWAY IS BUILT ON BAYLAND FILL AND IS NOT FLAT, THERE ARE MULTIPLE LARGE UNDULATIONS), THE LEFT MAIN GEAR COLLAPSED AND THE LEFT WING FLOAT CONTACTED THE RUNWAY. AIRCRAFT VEERED LEFT AND CAME TO REST BETWEEN THE CENTERLINE AND THE LEFT EDGE OF RUNWAY, BETWEEN TWY B AND C. PILOT SHUT DOWN THE ENGINE AND MASTER SWITCH. PILOT SAID THE GEAR HANDLE APPEARED DOWN, BUT HYDRAULIC PRESSURE WAS INDICATING ZERO. WHEN THE PILOT TURNED THE SWITCHES BACK ON AND PRESSED THE GEAR HANDLE DOWN, IT MOVED SLIGHTLY FURTHER DOWN AND SAW HYDRAULIC PRESSURE COMING BACK UP.