Piper PA-24-260 accident near Rancho Murieta, California, February 14, 2006
On February 14, 2006 at about 3:01 am local time, a Piper PA-24-260, registered N9212P, was substantially damaged in an accident near Rancho Murieta, California (Rancho Murieta airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
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The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
an electrical fault in the nose gear limit switch circuit, which lead to an intermittent failure of the landing gear extension system. Also causal was the pilot's failure to fully complete the emergency gear extension procedure. A factor in the accident was the inoperative runway edge lights.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- February 14, 2006 · about 3:01 am local time
- Place
- Rancho Murieta, California · Rancho Murieta · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-24-260 · all PA-24-260s on the register
- Registration
- N9212P · registry record · serial 24-4707
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The airplane landed short of the approach end of the runway following a landing gear extension malfunction and the nose and main landing gear were sheared off. The pilot departed on a cross-country flight and he was unable to retract the airplane's landing gear, and diverted to another airport to have a mechanic inspect the landing gear. The mechanic placed the airplane on jacks, inspected, and functionally checked the landing gear. No mechanical anomalies were noted, and the mechanic returned the airplane to service. The pilot refueled the airplane to its capacity of 5.5 hours of flight time, and continued the flight to his destination airport. Approximately 4 hours later he arrived at the destination airport and noted it was still light outside. He placed the landing gear handle in the down position, but did not receive a down and locked indication inside the cockpit. He then tried unsuccessfully to manually lower the landing gear several times, but it did not fully extend. The pilot flew around the airport for an additional 1.5 hours trying to extend the landing gear. At that point, he realized the airplane was in a low fuel state and it was dark outside. He did not feel that he could safely make it a nearby airport and decided to make a precautionary landing. Neither the pilot nor fire department personnel waiting on the ground could get the airport runway lights turned on. The airplane landed short of the runway. The Safety Board investigator-in-charge, and a Federal Aviation Administration airworthiness inspector examined the landing gear system. With the use of an ohmmeter and the airplane's wiring diagram, they were able to determine that the nose landing gear limit switch had an intermittent fault in the normally closed circuit position. According to the airplane's manufacturer, an intermittent fault in the nose landing gear limit switch would cause the landing gear motor to fail to complete either the landing gear UP or DOWN cycle.
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: private
- Ratings: single-engine land
- Flight time: 577 hours in all; 460 in this make and model; 20 in the last 90 days; 8 in the last 30 days
- Last flight review: June 1, 2005
- Medical certificate: Class 3
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 2,494 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, July 1, 2005; 18 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,100 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Lycoming IO-540-D4A5 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: 1V9 Delta CO at 8:30 pm
- Destination: RIU Rancho Murieta CA
- Flight plan: VFR
- Runway 22, 3,800 ft by 75 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: dusk
- Wind: from 140° at 3 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 55°F (13°C), dew point 48°F (9°C)
- Altimeter: 30.03 inHg
- Observation at 3:45 am from MHR, 9 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 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 LAX06LA114.