# Incident 20260515005289I: Piper PA-30, Starke, FL, May 15, 2026 - Type: FAA incident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported - Date: May 15, 2026, 22:20 local time - Place: Starke, FL - Airport: Keystone Heights - Damage: Minor damage - Phase of flight: Landing: Approach - Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91) - Location: 29.8447° N, 82.0475° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs at KEYSTONE HEIGHTS (42J), within about a mile (OpenAirDocs) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=29.8447&lon=-82.0475&mi=10 - Aircraft: N8188Y, registered now (https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N8188Y) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry model: Piper PA-30 (registry code 7103002, https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa-30) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: Lycoming IO-320-B1A (registry code 41907, https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-io-320-b1a) (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: PIPER PA-30 - Reported engine: LYCOMING IO-320 - People aboard: 4 - Fatal injuries: 0 - Other injuries: 0 - Pilot certificates: Commercial pilot - Pilot flight hours: 1,766 total, 303 in this make and model, 60 in the last 90 days - FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/) - Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20260515005289I ## Narrative As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^. ON MAY 15, 2026, THE ORLANDO FLIGHT STANDARDS DISTRICT OFFICE (FSDO) RECEIVED NOTIFICATION THAT AN AIRCRAFT HAD EXPERIENCED A GEAR-UP LANDING AT KEYSTONE HEIGHTS AIRPORT (42J). INSPECTOR A AND B TRAVELED TO KEYSTONE HEIGHTS ON MAY 18, 2026, BEGINNING AT 0700, AFTER COORDINATING WITH THE PILOT TO ENSURE THEIR PRESANCE. UPON ARRIVAL AT THE FIXED-BASE OPERATOR (FBO) FACILITY AT KEYSTONE HEIGHTS, THE AIRCRAFT WAS OBSERVED RESTING ON ITS LANDING GEAR. FOLLOWING THE INCIDENT, KEYSTONE HEIGHTS GROUND CREWS, ALONG WITH A DESIGNATED MAINTENANCE EXAMINER (DME) ASSISTED IN REMOVING THE AIRCRAFT FROM THE RUNWAY. THE DME CONSULTED WITH INSPECTOR B TO DETERMINE WHETHER IT WAS APPROPRIATE TO MANUALLY EXTEND THE LANDING GEAR FOR THE PURPOSE OF MOVING THE AIRCRAFT AND POSITIONING IT ON ITS MAIN LANDING GEAR. THE DECISION WAS MADE TO PROCEED. THE DME PLACED THE LANDING GEAR SELECTOR IN THE DOWN POSITION, DISENGAGED THE MOTOR, AND USED THE EXTENSION BAR TO MANUALLY DEPLOY THE LANDING GEAR. THE LEFT AND RIGHT MAIN LANDING GEAR EXTENDED NORMALLY. DUE TO BENT SHEET METAL AFFECTING THE NOSE GEAR AREA FROM THE LANDING, THE NOSE GEAR REQUIRED SLIGHT MANUAL ASSISTANCE TO FULLY EXTEND. THE AIRCRAFT WAS THEN MOVED TO THE KEYSTONE HEIGHTS FBO. ON MAY 18, 2026, DURING THE INSPECTION CONDUCTED BY THE ORLANDO FSDO INSPECTORS, IT WAS NOTED THAT THE LANDING GEAR HANDLE WAS IN THE DOWN POSITION AND THE EMERGENCY EXTENSION PANEL HAD BEEN REMOVED. INSPECTOR A ALSO DISCOVERED THAT THE LANDING GEAR CIRCUIT BREAKER HAD TRIPPED. INSPECTOR A INTERVIEWED THE PILOT REGARDING THE EVENTS LEADING UP TO THE GEAR-UP LANDING. THE PILOT STATED THAT HE, HIS WIFE, AND THEIR TWO CHILDREN WERE FLYING FROM CHICAGO MIDWAY AIRPORT TO KEYSTONE HEIGHTS FOR A TRIP TO DISNEY WORLD. THE FLIGHT WAS CONDUCTED UNDER VFR. ACCORDING TO THE PILOT, AFTER LOCATING THE AIRPORT HE PERFORMED A MIDFIELD OVERFLIGHT AND ENTERED A RIGHT DOWNWIND FOR RUNWAY 5. DURING THIS PHASE OF FLIGHT, HE ATTEMPTED TO LOWER THE LANDING GEAR, BUT NO RESPONSE OCCURRED. THE PILOT EXECUTED A GO-AROUND AND REMAINED IN THE TRAFFIC PATTERN FOR APPROXIMATELY THREE TO FOUR CIRCUITS. DURING THIS TIME, HE CYCLED THE LANDING GEAR SELECTOR BETWEEN UP AND DOWN MULTIPLE TIMES WITHOUT SUCCESS. THE PILOT STATED THAT HE CHECKED THE CIRCUIT BREAKERS AND BELIEVED NONE HAD TRIPPED. BECAUSE IT WAS DARK, HE USED THE FLASHLIGHT FUNCTION ON HIS CELL PHONE DURING TROUBLESHOOTING. HE THEN OPENED THE EMERGENCY EXTENSION PANEL, REMOVED THE EXTENSION BAR, AND ATTEMPTED TO MANUALLY EXTEND THE LANDING GEAR. DESPITE USING SIGNIFICANT FORCE, THE LANDING GEAR DID NOT EXTEND, AND THE PILOT EVENTUALLY BENT THE EXTENSION BAR, RENDERING IT UNUSABLE. AT THAT POINT, HE CONCLUDED THAT A GEAR-UP LANDING WAS UNAVOIDABLE. DURING THE GEAR-UP LANDING, THE PILOT REPORTED THAT THE FLAPS WERE IN THE ZERO POSITION AND THE ENGINE REMAINED OPERATING UNDER POWER AT THE TIME OF TOUCHDOWN. HE DESCRIBED THE LANDING AS SMOOTH AND LEVEL. AFTER THE AIRCRAFT CAME TO REST ON THE RUNWAY, THE PILOT AND PASSENGERS EXITED THE AIRCRAFT SAFELY. THE PILOT THEN NOTIFIED AIRPORT PERSONNEL, AND RECOVERY OPERATIONS BEGAN. 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.