Piper PA-31-350 incident near Denver, Colorado, August 18, 1998
On August 18, 1998 at about 3:05 am local time, a Piper PA-31-350, registered N66906, suffered minor damage in an incident near Denver, Colorado (Denver International airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
A hydraulic failure due to a ruptured hydraulic line, preventing the extension of the nose and right main landing gear.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- August 18, 1998 · about 3:05 am local time
- Place
- Denver, Colorado · Denver International · map
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-31-350 · all PA-31-350s on the register
- Registration
- N66906 · no longer on the register · serial 31-7405197
- 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
After departure, the crew noticed a malfunction with the landing gear transition light. They attempted to recycle the landing gear, but the transition light remained illuminated. They circled the area for approximately one hour and thirty-five minutes, but all attempts to lower the gear were unsuccessful. The crew made the decision to divert to Denver International Airport where expanded emergency ground services would be available. The crew declared an emergency, and a gear-up landing was performed. Post accident examination of the aircraft by an FAA inspector revealed that the landing gear sustained a hydraulic failure which was due to a ruptured hydraulic hose located in the right wheel well. The hydraulic braided steel hose had several braids broken and the rubber hose had been punctured and/or ruptured under pressure.
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 multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 1,415 hours in all; 160 in this make and model; 160 in the last 90 days; 1,226 as pilot in command; 816 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 13,201 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, August 3, 1998; 50 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 7,000 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Lycoming TIO-540-J2BD (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: TAD Trinidad CO
- Destination: COS Colorado Sprngs CO
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 17L, 12,000 ft by 150 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: night, bright
- Wind: from 210° at 12 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 20,000 ft; scat at 9,000 ft
- Temperature: 73°F (23°C), dew point 52°F (11°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 2:53 am from DEN
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 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.
Other NTSB records under N66906 the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
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.