Portland Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Portland, Oregon 97218
Thursday, March 20, 2008 10:26 PDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot reported that when he was preparing to land at his destination, he found that the right main landing gear failed to extend. The pilot diverted back to the originating airport. Maintenance personnel discussed the problem with the pilot and various remedial actions were tried without success. The pilot declared an emergency, and landed with the right main gear retracted. During the recovery efforts, the airplane was jacked up in order to extend the right main landing gear, which locked in place. The airplane was then towed to a hangar. Examination revealed that the upper pivot bolt had not been installed through the pivot hole in the upper end of the actuating rod during recent maintenance. The mechanic who did the repair and the inspector who signed off the repair did not detect the discrepancy.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The failure of company maintenance personnel to install the upper pivot bolt through the pivot hole in the upper end of the landing gear actuating rod, and the company maintenance inspector's inadequate inspection of the work performed.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 3/20/2008
Event Day of the Week Thursday
Time of Event 1026
Event Time Zone Pacific Daylight Time
Event City Portland
Event State OREGON
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 97218
Event Date Year 2008
Event Date Month 3
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 453519N
Event Location Longitude 1223627W
Event Location Airport Portland
Event Location Nearest Airport ID PDX
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 --
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 948 Pacific Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) --
Weather Observation Facility ID PDX
Elevation of weather observation facility 30
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) --
Time Zone of the weather observation PDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 2400
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 1800
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Scattered
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling Broken
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 8
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 3
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 200
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 9
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.18
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 1
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 23461
NTSB Notification Source FAA
NTSB Notification Date Mar 20 2008 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Apr 30 2008 1:28PM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\johb
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office Portland FSDO

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N4098A
NTSB Number LAX08LA080
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 135: Air Taxi & Commuter
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-31-350
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 31-8152200
Certified Max Gross Weight 7000
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class --
Aircraft is a homebuilt? No
Flight Crew Seats --
Cabin Crew Seats --
Passenger Seats --
Total number of seats on the aircraft 2
Number of Engines 2
Fixed gear or retractable gear Retractable
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection AAIP
Date of Last Inspection Mar 1 2008 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 3
Airframe Hours 16547
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name UAS Transervices, Inc.
Aircraft Owner Street Address 3280 E. Foothill Blvd
Aircraft Owner City Pasadena
Aircraft Owner State CA
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 91107
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name Ameriflight LLC
Operator Same as Owner? No
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? No
Operator Street Address 4700 Empire Av, HGR 1
Operator City Burbank
Operator State CA
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 91505
Operator Code JIKA
Owner has at least one certificate --
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 Non-scheduled
Indicates Domestic or International Flight Domestic
Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail Cargo
Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) --
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event Yes
Departure Airport Code PDX
Departure City Portland
Departure State OR
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 745
Departure Time Zone PDT
Destination Same as Local Flt --
Destination Airport Code RBG
Destination City Roseburg
Destination State OR
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Landing - roll
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Apr 12 2008 3:58PM
User who most recently changed record STAM
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location 03
Runway Length 7001
Runway Width 150
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --