Piper PA32R accident near Miami, Florida, August 20, 2025
On August 20, 2025 at about 10:16 pm local time, a 1977 Piper PA32R, registered N990DM, was substantially damaged in an accident during landing near Miami, Florida (Miami Exec airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
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The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
An inflight loss of hydraulic fluid from the landing gear system through a cracked fitting, which resulted in a landing gear collapse upon touchdown.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- August 20, 2025 · about 10:16 pm local time
- Place
- Miami, Florida · Miami Exec · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA32R 300, built 1977 · all PA32Rs on the register
- Registration
- N990DM · registry record · serial 32R-7780357
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot reported that while enroute the “Warn Gear Unsafe” indicator illuminated and a decrease in airspeed was observed. After confirming that the airplane had enough fuel to reach the destination the pilot attempted to lower the landing gear. He placed the landing gear selector in the down position, but the landing gear position indicator lights were not illuminated. The pilot then followed the checklist for the emergency landing gear extension, but the gear indicator lights still did not illuminate, so he attempted multiple high G maneuvers to attempt to lock the landing gear to no avail. He then performed a low pass of the air traffic control tower who reported that the gear appeared to be down and locked. Upon touchdown the landing gear collapsed, and the airplane sustained substantial damage to the fuselage. Postaccident examination of the airplane revealed that the hydraulic system contained only trace amounts of fluid. The system was then serviced with hydraulic fluid and operated successfully. Further examination of the hydraulic system found that hydraulic fluid was leaking from a cracked fitting. Based on this information, it is likely that the inflight loss of hydraulic fluid through the cracked fitting resulted in the system failing to operate as intended.
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
What happened, in order
- Landing gear collapse during landing defining event
The NTSB's findings
- Aircraft › Fluids/misc hardware › Fluids › Hydraulic fluid › Fluid level
Pilot
- Certificate: airline transport pilot, flight instructor
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; single-engine sea; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 1,592 hours in all; 114 in this make and model; 44 in the last 90 days; 16 in the last 30 days; 1,491 as pilot in command; 295 on instruments
- Last flight review: March 29, 2025
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (with waivers/limitations)
- Seat: rgt
- Injury: no injuries
Passenger
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 4,918 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, May 1, 2025; 12 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,600 lb
- Seats: 6
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Lycoming IO-540-K1G5D (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: MDST Santiago OF at 4:10 pm
- Flight plan: VFR
- Runway 27L, 6,000 ft by 150 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Sky: a few clouds
- Temperature: 32°F (0°C), dew point 32°F (0°C)
- Altimeter: 29.80 inHg
- Observation at 5:53 pm from TMB, 1 miles away
Weather report (METAR): METAR KTMB 202153Z AUTO A2980 RMK AO2 SLP092 PWINO $
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flig | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 1 |
About this page
Everything above comes from the NTSB's public accident database: the narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words, and the coded tables behind its report (pilot, aircraft, flight, weather, injuries, sequence of events) are written out in plain English. Pilots' ages, home towns and medical details are left out on purpose. The docket at the NTSB holds the report as a PDF and the investigation's photographs and documents. This site never names pilots, passengers or anyone else involved. A preliminary report describes what is known soon after the event and can change; the final report, with the probable cause, usually follows one to two years later and this page is refreshed when it does. Case number ERA25LA314.