Individually Owned: 151,845
Corporate Owned: 143,699
Bismarck Muni Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Bismarck, North Dakota 58504
Tuesady, May 3, 2005 21:00 CDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The airplane was substantially damaged during an emergency landing when the landing gear did not extend properly. The pilot noted that when he attempted to lower the landing gear on approach to the intended destination nothing happened. He elected to divert to an airport with additional capabilities and assistance available. The pilot stated that he executed the emergency gear extension procedure, however, this procedure was not successful. The left main landing gear appeared to be fully extended, the nose landing gear was in a "dragging" condition, and the right main landing gear was retracted when observed by the tower controller prior to landing. The pilot noted that the red gear unlocked indicator light was illuminated and the green landing gear down/locked indicators were not illuminated. Since no further options were available to extend the gear, the pilot executed an emergency landing. The airplane touched down on the left main wheel which did not collapse initially. The right wing subsequently dropped and contacted the runway. The pilot applied left wheel brakes, however, the airplane departed the right side of the runway pavement and came to rest in the grass. The left main landing gear collapsed and a runway light was damaged in the process. The post-accident inspection revealed that a hydraulic powerpak drain line (Piper part number 46138-00) was ruptured. The drain line was located in the nose section of the airplane, forward of the cabin pressure bulkhead. The rupture was approximately one-half inch long. Hydraulic fluid was observed in the vicinity of the line rupture. The hydraulic reservoir was empty.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
Rupture of the hydraulic powerpak drain line which resulted in a loss of hydraulic fluid and the inability to properly lower the landing gear despite the pilot's execution of the emergency extension procedures. A contributing factor was the runway light struck during the emergency landing.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 5/3/2005 |
| Event Day of the Week | Tuesday |
| Time of Event | 2100 |
| Event Time Zone | Central Daylight Time |
| Event City | Bismarck |
| Event State | NORTH DAKOTA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 58504 |
| Event Date Year | 2005 |
| Event Date Month | 5 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 464622N |
| Event Location Longitude | 1004445W |
| Event Location Airport | Bismarck Muni |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | BIS |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | On Airport |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | -- |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | -- |
| Airport Elevation | 1661 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | -- |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 2052 Central Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | -- |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | BIS |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 1661 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 0 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | CDT |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | -- |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | -- |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | Clear |
| Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling | None |
| Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) | -- |
| Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) | -- |
| Visibility (Statute Miles) | 10 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | 9 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | -13 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 360 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | -- |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | Calm |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 30 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | -- |
| Intensity of Precipitation | -- |
| METAR weather report | -- |
| Event Highest Injury | None |
| On Ground, Fatal Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Minor Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Serious Injuries | -- |
| Injury Total Fatal | -- |
| Injury Total Minor | -- |
| Injury Total None | 2 |
| Injury Total Serious | -- |
| Injury Total All | -- |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 18222 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA |
| NTSB Notification Date | May 3 2005 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | 2151 |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | DMS |
| Date of most recent change to record | Sep 13 2005 12:54PM |
| User who most recently changed record | NTSB\JOHB |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | FAA-Fargo FSDO |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N2338V |
| NTSB Number | CHI05LA109 |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | -- |
| Federal Aviation Reg. Part | Part 91: General Aviation |
| Type of Flight Plan filed | IFR |
| Flight plan Was Activated? | Yes |
| Damage | Substantial |
| Aircraft Fire | None |
| Aircraft Explosion | None |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | Piper |
| Aircraft Model | PA-31T |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 31T-8020049 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 9000 |
| Aircraft Category | Airplane |
| Aircraft Registration Class | U.S. Registered/U.S. Soil |
| Aircraft is a homebuilt? | No |
| Flight Crew Seats | -- |
| Cabin Crew Seats | -- |
| Passenger Seats | -- |
| Total number of seats on the aircraft | 8 |
| Number of Engines | 2 |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Retractable |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | AAIP |
| Date of Last Inspection | Feb 1 2005 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 50 |
| Airframe Hours | 7332 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | REMC Leasing, LLC |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | 919 S 7th St -- Suite 405 |
| Aircraft Owner City | Bismark |
| Aircraft Owner State | ND |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 58504 |
| Operator is an individual? | No |
| Operator Name | -- |
| Operator Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Street Address | -- |
| Operator City | -- |
| Operator State | -- |
| Operator Country | -- |
| Operator Zip code | -- |
| Operator Code | -- |
| Owner has at least one certificate | None |
| Other Operator of large aircraft? | -- |
| Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation | -- |
| Operator Certificate Number | -- |
| Indicates whether an air carrier operation was scheduled or not | -- |
| Indicates Domestic or International Flight | -- |
| Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail | -- |
| Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) | Unknown |
| Second Pilot on Board | No |
| Departure Point Same as Event | No |
| Departure Airport Code | BJC |
| Departure City | Denver |
| Departure State | CO |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 1630 |
| Departure Time Zone | CDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | -- |
| Destination Airport Code | BIS |
| Destination City | Bismark |
| Destination State | ND |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | Landing - roll |
| Report sent to ICAO? | No |
| Evacuation occurred | No |
| Date of most recent change to record | Jul 10 2005 8:09PM |
| User who most recently changed record | SULP |
| Since inspection or accident | Time of Accident |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | 21 |
| Runway Length | 6600 |
| Runway Width | 100 |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |