- Date
- August 26, 1986, 15:35 local (20:35 UTC)
- Place
- Grand Forks, ND
- Injuries
- 6 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Taxi
- Aircraft
- N900TSPiper PA-23E-250
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19860826059359A
- Case key
- 17041
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
The acft was en route from flin flon airport, manitoba, cd, to mason city, IA, and had stopped at Grand Forks, ND, for fuel and to clear customs. During taxi for takeoff, the acft struck a 1-inch concrete lip on the ramp and the right main landing gear collapsed. Post accident examination revealed the actuator rod end was bent and one of four springs on the overcenter cam device was detached from its proper attach point and was excessively stretched. With the acft on jacks the spring was reattached and the gear was extended, trapping the spring between the downlock switch and the downlock overcenter mechanism. With some weight applied to the landing gear, a firm upward pressure was applied to the overcenter device and the right main landing gear retracted. Further tests revealed that the landing gear selector handle did not always catch the safety latch when placed in the neutral position, and that it was possible for the selector to go from down to up without triggering the latch.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N900TS
- Reported as
- Piper PA-23E-250
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 27-7405429
- Engine
- Lycoming IO-540-C4B5, 250 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- James Kenney, doing business as Vermillion Flying Service
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Departed
- GFK
- Destination
- MCW · Mason City, IA
- Flight plan
- IFR
- Airport
- GFK · Grand Forks-Mark Andrews
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
- 35
- Certificates
- Commercial, Airline transport
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 5,725 total · 33 in this make and model · 4,225 as pilot in command · 70 in the last 90 days · 3 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 360° at 10 knots
- Visibility
- 15 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 70 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.