NTSB CAROL · Event
Event ERA22LA048
Registry · N3VM
FAA Aircraft Registry record.
Make / Model
PIPER PA-31-350
Year of manufacture
1973 · 48 years old at event
Engine
LYCOMING TI0-541 SER (310 hp)
Seats / Engines
8 seats · 2 engines
ADS-B equipped
Yes — Mode-S A31C87
Registrant of record
AZTEC WORLDWIDE AIRLINES INC
Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).
Aircraft involved
Probable cause & findings
The collapse of the left main landing gear for reasons that could not be determined.
Factual narrative
The pilot reported that after a normal approach and landing, during the landing roll after about 5 to 6 seconds, the left main landing gear collapsed. He immediately pulled the mixtures to idle-cut-off, the left wing contacted the runway, and the airplane skidded into the grass to the left of the runway, which resulted in substantial damage to the left wing. The pilot reported that he observed three gear down green indications prior to landing. Postaccident examination of the landing gear system and functional tests found that the nose and main landing gear system functioned normally, and in addition, the three green indicator lights functioned normally. The investigation was unable to duplicate any fault or discover any anomaly with the landing gear system. 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).
- — Aircraft-Aircraft systems-Landing gear system-Main landing gear-Unknown/Not determined
- — Aircraft-Aircraft systems-Landing gear system-Main landing gear-Failure
Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file
NTSB_2021_ERA22LA048.txt.
Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb.
Full investigation docket on
data.ntsb.gov ↗.
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