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BFO93LA067

1993-05-02 · WILLIMANTIC, Connecticut, United States · None · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport IJD

Current FAA registration · N81529

Make / Model
PIPER PA-28RT-201
Year of manufacture
1980 · 13 years old at event
Engine
LYCOMING I0360 SER A&C (200 hp)
Seats / Engines
4 seats · 1 engine
Last airworthiness date
19800130
ADS-B equipped
Yes — Mode-S AB1EAF

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

FAILURE OF THE PILOT TO FOLLOW EMERGENCY PROCEDURES TO ENSURE THAT THE GEAR WAS LOCKED. A FACTOR RELATED TO THE ACCIDENT WAS THE TOTAL ELECTRICAL FAILURE AND THE CONSTRUCTION SITE LOCATED BESIDE THE RUNWAY.

Factual narrative

WHILE IN CRUISE DURING A CROSS COUNTRY FLIGHT, THE AIRPLANE LOST TOTAL ELECTRICAL POWER. THE FLIGHT WAS CONTINUED TO ITS PLANNED DESTINATION. WHILE IN THE PATTERN, THE LANDING GEAR WAS EXTENDED AT 95 KNOTS INDICATED AIRSPEED. DURING THE LANDING, THE LEFT MAIN GEAR COLLAPSED AND THE AIRPLANE SKIDDED INTO A CONSTRUCTION SITE. THE AIRPLANE IMPACTED CONSTRUCTION MATERIAL AND THE RIGHT MAIN GEAR WAS TORN AWAY FROM THE RIGHT WING STRUCTURE. POST ACCIDENT EXAMINATION OF THE AIRPLANE'S ELECTRICAL SYSTEM REVEALED THAT A BATTERY WIRE LEADING TO THE ALTERNATOR HAD FAILED NEAR THE ALTERNATOR. THE LANDING GEAR WAS TESTED WITH NO ANOMALIES NOTED. THE PILOT OPERATING HANDBOOK STATED THAT THE EMERGENCY GEAR LEVER MUST BE HELD IN THE DOWNWARD POSITION FOR EMERGENCY EXTENSION. THE PILOT OPERATING HANDBOOK ALSO STATED THAT AN AIRSPEED OF 87 KNOTS SHOULD BE ATTAINED BEFORE TRYING TO EXTEND THE GEAR DURING AN EMERGENCY EXTENSION. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_1993_BFO93LA067.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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