Piper PA-31-350 accident near Trinidad, Colorado, October 9, 2007
On October 9, 2007 at about 2:13 pm local time, a Piper PA-31-350, registered N313RA, was substantially damaged in an accident near Trinidad, Colorado (Perry Stokes Field). It was flown under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's failure to extend the landing gear.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- October 9, 2007 · about 2:13 pm local time
- Place
- Trinidad, Colorado · Perry Stokes Field · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-31-350 · all PA-31-350s on the register
- Registration
- N313RA · no longer on the register · serial 31-8052069
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Flight · charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot failed to extend the landing gear, resulting in substantial damage to the bottom of the fuselage. The operator noted, "[The] pilot freely admits to forgetting to extend gear." the report said. Photographs of the airplane reveal the fuselage skin to be gone, exposing several compromised bulkheads.
The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
Pilot
- Certificate: commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 1,573 hours in all; 367 in this make and model; 181 in the last 90 days; 56 in the last 30 days; 1,500 as pilot in command
- Last flight review: June 1, 2007
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (without waivers/limitations)
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 9,885 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, August 1, 2007; 69 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 7,368 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Textron Lycoming TIO-540-J2BD (piston); 0 hours total
- Operator: Key Lime Air, Inc.
The flight
- Departed from: LAA Lamar CO at 1:40 pm
- Destination: TAD Trinidad CO
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 21, 5,498 ft by 100 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 290° at 10 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 36°F (2°C), dew point 18°F (-8°C)
- Altimeter: 30.26 inHg
- Observation at 1:54 pm from TAD
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), has not been read from the NTSB for this case yet; the list appears here once it has. Open the docket at the NTSB.
Everything on this page comes from the NTSB's public records. The narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words; the coded tables behind the report are written out in plain English, with pilots' ages, home towns and medical details left out. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, shown as the NTSB released them. This site's own text never names anyone involved. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.