DEN87LA004

1986-10-08 · GRAFTON, North Dakota, United States · None · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport GAF

Aircraft involved

N8125H Piper PA-32R-301T None

Factual narrative

PLT MADE FORCED LANDING ON DIRT ROAD SHORTLY AFTER TAKEOFF WHEN THE ENG REPORTEDLY LOST POWER. PLT EXTENDED LANDING GEAR BUT ACFT TOUCHED DOWN BEFORE GEAR LOCKED AND LEFT MAIN LANDING GEAR COLLAPSED. LEFT WING ALSO STRUCK A MAILBOX DURING ROLLOUT. POST ACCIDENT INSPECTION REVEALED A GUMMY RESIDUE ON TURBO WASTE GATE CONTROL, PRECLUDING DEVELOPMENT OF FULL POWER. ADDITIONALLY, TIRES WERE REPORTED TO BE UNDER-INFLATED, CAUSING HIGHER FRICTIONAL DRAG. THE PLT SAID THE TAKEOFF GROUND ROLL WAS NOT ABNORMALLY LONG. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_1986_DEN87LA004.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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