- Date
- May 3, 1988, 13:00 local (17:00 UTC)
- Place
- Wilkesboro, NC
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N34GKPiper PA-31-325
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report June 9, 1989
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19880503012709A
- Case key
- 7753
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Analysis
After a normal approach and landing, the left main gear slowly collapsed during the roll out. The aircraft veered to the left, struck a sign off the runway edge and collided with a ditch. The left main gear was found unlocked during postaccident investigation. The aircraft had undergone maintenance a short time before.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N34GK
- Reported as
- Piper PA-31-325
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 31 7712049
- Engine
- Lycoming TI0-540-F2BD, 325 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Executive/Corporate · Part 91
- Operator
- Golden Aviation Company, Inc.
- Registered owner
- Golden Aviaton Co.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · April 11, 1988 · 19 hours before
- Departed
- LBT · Lumberton, NC
- Destination
- 1KB · Wilkesboro, NC
- Flight plan
- IFR
- Airport
- 1KB · Wilkes County
Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 34
- Certificates
- Airline transport, Flight instructor
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 5,832 total · 1,305 in this make and model · 2,854 as pilot in command · 173 in the last 90 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 70° at 6 knots
- Visibility
- 7 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 1,800 ft broken
- Temperature
- 61 °F, dew point 57 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- HKY
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.