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LAX87LA164

1987-03-31 · TUCSON, Arizona, United States · None · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport TUS

N13W has since been reassigned. It is now registered to a different aircraft (PIPER PA-32R-301, built 2001), which was not involved in this event.

Aircraft involved

Factual narrative

THE AIRCRAFT DOOR CAME OPEN DURING THE INITIAL CLIMB AFTER TAKEOFF BECAUSE IT WAS NOT PROPERLY CLOSED AND LOCKED. THE PILOT RAISED THE LANDING GEAR. THEREAFTER, BECAUSE OF SLOW ACCELERATION, HE ELECTED TO LAND ON THE REMAINING RUNWAY. HE MOVED THE LANDING GEAR LEVER TO THE DOWN POSITION BUT WAS UNABLE TO HOLD OFF LONG ENOUGH FOR THE GEAR TO EXTEND FULLY INTO THE DOWN AND LOCKED POSITION. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_1987_LAX87LA164.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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