Dassault DA-20 incident near Opa Locka, Florida, April 4, 2000
On April 4, 2000 at about 9:24 pm local time, a Dassault DA-20, registered N175GA, suffered minor damage in an incident near Opa Locka, Florida (Opa Locka airport). It was a positioning 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).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The failure of the PIC to execute the complete procedure for emergency extension of the landing gear and the subsequent landing with the left main landing gear not locked fully down, resulting in an excursion off the runway and collision with a runway stanchion. A factor in the incident was the fatigue failure of the left MLG door hydraulic emergency slide valve bolts due to non-compliance with a 1984 factory service bulletin that recommended replacement with larger bolts.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- April 4, 2000 · about 9:24 pm local time
- Place
- Opa Locka, Florida · Opa Locka · map
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Dassault DA-20
- Registration
- N175GA · registry record · serial 45
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Flight
- Positioning flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
According to the PIC, when the landing gear selector was positioned to the gear down position in preparation for landing, the landing gear did not extend and cockpit indications confirmed not down. A go around was executed and 'Procedure A' of the 'Emergency Gear Extension' checklist was executed. The result was a down and locked indication of the nose gear and the right main gear, no indication of the left gear being down, both hydraulic system quantities started decreasing, and control pressures felt in the yoke/stick indicated that the flight controls were losing their boost. The PIC elected to declare an emergency with the tower and execute a 2 gear down/1 gear up landing instead of completing the 'Procedure B' and 'Procedure C' portions of the checklist. The aircraft swerved off the left edge of the runway and sustained minor left under-wing skin scraping and a puncture to the left wing droop. Examination of the left wheel well revealed the malfunction causing the double hydraulic system leakage was the failure of two bolts attaching the hydraulic emergency slide valve to the left gear door actuating cylinder. Dassault Falcon Jet Service Bulletin FJF 32-160 dated April 26, 1984, recommends replacement of the 4-mm bolts with 5-mm bolts, to be accomplished, 'when the components are returned for major overhaul or repair, or upon request'. The incident aircraft had not undergone accomplishment of Service Bulletin FJF 32-160.
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: airline transport pilot, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 6,000 hours in all; 3,000 in this make and model; 150 in the last 90 days; 35 in the last 30 days; 4,500 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 16,552 hours
- Last inspection: approved inspection programme, February 27, 2000; 72 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 28,660 lb
- Seats: 3
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Ge CF-700-202 (turbojet); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: SDF Louisville KY at 6:54 pm
- Destination: OPF Opa Locka FL
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 27R, 8,002 ft by 150 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 260° at 12 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 88°F (31°C), dew point 68°F (20°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 9:50 pm from OPF, 1 miles away
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.
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.