- Date
- July 31, 1991, 12:35 local (16:35 UTC)
- Place
- Spartanburg, SC
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N300HFPiper PA-31-325
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report December 4, 1992
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19910731030949A
- Case key
- 8449
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Probable cause
The pilot's failure to follow the checklist and extend the landing gear prior to touchdown.
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
The airplane was landed with the landing gear retracted. A witness who worked in the airport manager's office noted that the gear was up when the airplane was on short final approach. The airport manager noted that the landing gear handle was down when the pilot exited the airplane after it slid to a stop. Normally, the gear handle returns to neutral when the gear fully extends. Its position indicated that the gear handle was lowered after landing. An FAA inspector examined the landing gear after the accident and noted that it functioned normally.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N300HF
- Reported as
- Piper PA-31-325
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 31-7812008
- Airframe hours
- 2,858
- Engine
- Lycoming TIO-520-A2C, 325 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Business · Part 91
- Operator
- Tomark Industries, Inc.
- Registered owner
- Tomark Industries, Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · September 12, 1990 · 278 hours before
- Departed
- PDK · Chamblee, GA
- Destination
- SPA · Spartanburg, SC
- Flight plan
- IFR
- Airport
- SPA · Spartanburg Downtown Mem., runway 4, 5,203 × 100 ft, asphalt
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
- 55
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 1,263 total · 480 in this make and model · 1,263 as pilot in command · 109 in the last 90 days · 57 in the last 30 days · 4 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 60° at 7 knots
- Visibility
- 6 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 4,000 ft broken
- Temperature
- 82 °F, dew point 72 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- GSP, 10 nm away
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.
Other investigations on N300HF · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.