Piper PA-34-200T incident near Lamar, Colorado, July 8, 1992
On July 8, 1992 at about 7:00 pm local time, a Piper PA-34-200T, registered N3030K, suffered minor damage in an incident near Lamar, Colorado (Lamar Municipal airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). No one was hurt; 3 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
FRACTURED NOSE LANDING GEAR BOLT DUE TO FATIGUE.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- July 8, 1992 · about 7:00 pm local time
- Place
- Lamar, Colorado · Lamar Municipal · map
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 3 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-34-200T · all PA-34-200Ts on the register
- Registration
- N3030K · no longer on the register · serial 34-7970103
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE PILOT NOTED AN UNSAFE INDICATION AFTER LOWERING THE LANDING GEAR AND OBSERVED THROUGH A MIRROR THE NOSEWHEEL WAS NOT LOCKED. HE ELECTED TO LAND WHEELS UP. POST INCIDENT INSPECTION DISCLOSED THE BOLT THAT ATTACHES THE UPPER DRAG LINK TO THE NOSE GEAR TRUNNION HAD SHEARED. LABORATORY EXAMINATION DISCLOSED TORSIONAL BENDING FATIGUE TYPICAL OF HIGH CYCLE LOW LOAD FATIGUE.
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: flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 10,400 hours in all; 940 in this make and model; 245 in the last 90 days; 80 in the last 30 days; 10,340 as pilot in command; 3,100 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 2,633 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, June 18, 1992; 33 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 4,570 lb
- Seats: 6
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Continental TSIO-360-EB (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: LAA at 5:30 pm
- Destination: COS Colorado Spring CO
- Runway 36, 6,304 ft by 100 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 110° at 8 knots
- Visibility: 30 statute miles
- Temperature: 90°F (32°C), dew point 55°F (13°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 6:50 pm from LHX, 45 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 2 |
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.