- Date
- July 25, 1982, 08:45 local (14:45 UTC)
- Place
- Gunnison, CO
- Injuries
- 2 minor
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N6383YPiper PA-23C-250
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report July 25, 1983
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19820725035599A
- Case key
- 70930
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
During takeoff, the pilot was distracted by inbound traffic and delayed retracting his gear. At the same time, the engines were not synchronized and he was having difficulty getting them to sound good. He then noticed that a fire had started in the vicinity of the left engine. The left engine was shut down and feathered, and the fire subsided. Since the hydraulic pump was on the left engine, the hand pump had to be used to retract or extend the landing gear. The pilot delayed pumping the gear up, then realized he would be unable to return to the airport. Subsequently, he landed in a grassy area with the gear retracted. An investigation revealed fire damage in the vicinity of the fuel injector and alterator. A fuel leak was found at the mixture control valve, pn 2522591, where the o-rings around the valve stem were worn. Also, a teardown of the alternator revealed that the brushes and armature were worn to the extent that sparking could occur, the density altitude was about 8500 ft.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N6383Y
- Reported as
- Piper PA-23C-250
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 273668
- Airframe hours
- 1,750
- Engine
- Lycoming IO-540-C4B5, 250 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Fire
- In-Flight
- Flight
- Business · Part 91
- Operator
- Landair Charter Service, Inc.
- Registered owner
- Dr. Richard V. Kubiak
- Departed
- GUC · Gunnison, CO
- Destination
- SAF · Santa Fe, NM
- Flight plan
- VFR
- Airport
- GUC · Gunnison 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
- 56
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Flight hours
- 1,877 total · 1,217 in this make and model · 1,642 as pilot in command · 42 in the last 90 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Calm
- Visibility
- 30 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 4,500 ft broken
- Temperature
- 135 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- GUC, 2 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.