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Atlas / NTSB / CEN10CA116

NTSB CAROL · Event

Event CEN10CA116

2010-02-04 Columbia, Missouri, United States Airport · COU None 1 aircraft Status: Completed

Registry · N723JP

FAA Aircraft Registry record.

Make / Model

PIPER PA-31T

Year of manufacture

1978 · 32 years old at event

Engine

U/A CANADA PT6A SERIES (715 hp)

Seats / Engines

8 seats · 2 engines

Last airworthiness date

19781110

ADS-B equipped

Yes — Mode-S A9AF87

Registrant of record

TIFFIN AIRE INC

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

The pilot's failure to verify that the landing gear was fully extended prior to landing.

Factual narrative

The pilot reported that the accident occurred during landing at the intended destination airport under visual weather conditions and light winds. He stated that upon landing, the left main landing gear collapsed and the left wing contacted the runway. The airplane subsequently departed the runway pavement and came to rest about mid-field in the grass adjacent to the runway. It had rotated about 180 degrees and was oriented on an approximately reciprocal heading. The right main landing gear also collapsed during the accident sequence. The pilot stated that verifying the landing gear indications was normally part of his before landing procedure. However, he could not specifically recall observing three green indications prior to the accident. A post accident examination revealed substantial damage to the lower fuselage in the vicinity of the cabin entry door. In addition, the inboard landing gear doors exhibited crushing damage consistent with the landing gear being in transit at the time of contact with the runway. The inboard landing gear doors open when the gear is in transit and close after the gear extension sequence is complete. Recorded winds at the time of the accident were 8 knots. The pilot reported that the accident occurred during landing at the destination airport under visual weather conditions and light winds. He stated that upon landing, the left main landing gear collapsed and the left wing contacted the runway. The airplane subsequently departed the runway pavement and came to rest about mid-field in the grass adjacent to the runway. It had rotated about 180 degrees and was oriented on an approximately reciprocal heading. The right main landing gear also collapsed during the accident sequence. The pilot stated that verifying the landing gear indications was normally part of his before-landing procedure; however, he could not specifically recall observing three green indications prior to the accident. A postaccident examination revealed substantial damage to the lower fuselage in the vicinity of the cabin entry door. In addition, the inboard landing gear doors exhibited crushing damage consistent with the landing gear being in transit at the time of contact with the runway. The inboard landing gear doors open when the gear is in transit and close after the gear extension sequence is complete. Recorded winds at the time of the accident were 8 knots. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12

NTSB Findings

Hierarchical cause / factor breakdown from the FAA bulk avdata database. Each finding tagged C (Cause) or F (Factor).

  • C Personnel issues-Action/decision-Action-Delayed action-Pilot - C
  • C Personnel issues-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Use of policy/procedure-Pilot - C

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2010_CEN10CA116.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.