- Date
- November 29, 1991, 03:05 local (10:05 UTC)
- Place
- Denver, CO
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Approach
- Aircraft
- N354ACPiper PA-31-350
- Weather
- Instrument (IMC) · Night/dark
- Status
- Completed · report May 27, 1993
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19911129058729I
- Case key
- 18183
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
A false unsafe landing gear indication due to a frozen down lock switch. Factors were: icing conditions and low ceilings.
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 the approach, the pilot could not obtain a gear down and locked indication on the left main landing gear. He elected to land gear up which caused substantial damage to the bottom of the fuselage. Postaccident tests revealed that the left main landing gear down lock switch had frozen from an accumulation of ice. Weather conditions at the time included icing, low ceilings and low visibility. Prior to the accident, the pilot reported accumulations of moderate ice. Following the accident, ice accumulation of up to 3 inches was found on the aircraft.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N354AC
- Reported as
- Piper PA-31-350
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 31-7752049
- Engine
- Lycoming LTSID-540-J2B, 350 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Part 135
- Operator
- Alpine Air, Inc.
- Departed
- SLC · Salt Lake City, UT
- Flight plan
- IFR
- Airport
- DEN · Stapleton International, runway 26, 10,004 × 150 ft, concrete
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
- 30
- Certificates
- Airline transport, Flight instructor
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Flight hours
- 3,179 total · 490 in this make and model · 2,876 as pilot in command · 282 in the last 90 days · 94 in the last 30 days · 3 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Instrument (IMC) · Night/dark
- Visibility
- 1 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 400 ft overcast
- Temperature
- 28 °F, dew point 28 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.