- Date
- August 20, 2025, 18:16 local (22:16 UTC)
- Place
- Miami, FL
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N990DMPiper PA32R
- Defining event
- Landing: Landing gear collapse
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report December 11, 2025
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Investigation class
- Class 4 - Basic report with no Prelim publish
- NTSB office
- Eastern Region Aviation
- Parties
- FAA/FSDO
- FAA report
- 20250820021299A
- Case key
- 200859
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
An inflight loss of hydraulic fluid from the landing gear system through a cracked fitting, which resulted in a landing gear collapse upon touchdown.
Findings · 1
NTSB’s coded findings. Those marked are part of the probable cause; the rest are factors or other findings. Under each, the cases with the same finding.
Sequence of events
The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event is the one that best describes the accident. Under each, the cases with the same event anywhere in their sequence.
Analysis
The pilot reported that while enroute the “Warn Gear Unsafe” indicator illuminated and a decrease in airspeed was observed. After confirming that the airplane had enough fuel to reach the destination the pilot attempted to lower the landing gear. He placed the landing gear selector in the down position, but the landing gear position indicator lights were not illuminated. The pilot then followed the checklist for the emergency landing gear extension, but the gear indicator lights still did not illuminate, so he attempted multiple high G maneuvers to attempt to lock the landing gear to no avail. He then performed a low pass of the air traffic control tower who reported that the gear appeared to be down and locked. Upon touchdown the landing gear collapsed, and the airplane sustained substantial damage to the fuselage. Postaccident examination of the airplane revealed that the hydraulic system contained only trace amounts of fluid. The system was then serviced with hydraulic fluid and operated successfully. Further examination of the hydraulic system found that hydraulic fluid was leaking from a cracked fitting. Based on this information, it is likely that the inflight loss of hydraulic fluid through the cracked fitting resulted in the system failing to operate as intended.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N990DM
- Reported as
- Piper PA32R (300)
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 32R-7780357
- Built
- 1977
- Airframe hours
- 4,918
- Engine
- Lycoming IO-540-K1G5D, 300 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · May 1, 2025 · 12 hours before
- Departed
- MDST · Santiago, OF
- Destination
- Same as departure
- Flight plan
- VFR
- Airport
- TMB · Miami Exec, runway 27L, 6,000 × 150 ft, asphalt
- Equipment
- ADS-B, Stall warning system, Onboard weather, Handheld GPS, Electronic primary flight display, Electronic multifunction display, Electronic flight bag or handheld device, Auto-pilot
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
- 54
- Injuries
- None
- Certificates
- Flight instructor, Airline transport
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine sea, Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, With waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- March 29, 2025
- Seat
- Right
- Restraint
- 3-point
- Flight hours
- 1,592 total · 114 in this make and model · 1,491 as pilot in command · 44 in the last 90 days · 16 in the last 30 days · 8 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Temperature
- 32 °F, dew point 32 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.80 inHg
- Observed at
- TMB, 1 nm away
- METAR
- METAR KTMB 202153Z AUTO A2980 RMK AO2 SLP092 PWINO $
Docket · 12
The files NTSB released with the investigation on December 11, 2025, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 17.5 MB in all.
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.