Piper PA-31-325 incident near Fort Laudedale, Florida, March 23, 2002
On March 23, 2002 at about 11:02 pm local time, a Piper PA-31-325, registered N49RB, suffered minor damage in an incident near Fort Laudedale, Florida (Ft. Lauderdale-Hollywood Intl. airport). It was a positioning 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).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The failure of the pilot to assure all items of the before landing checklist were complied with before landing, resulting in the wheels up landing.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- March 23, 2002 · about 11:02 pm local time
- Place
- Fort Laudedale, Florida · Ft. Lauderdale-Hollywood Intl. · map
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-31-325 · all PA-31-325s on the register
- Registration
- N49RB · no longer on the register · serial 31-7512031
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Flight
- Positioning flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
According to the pilot, due to radio traffic congestion at his landing airport, he missed the tower's call for his landing clearance, and his attempts to confirm his clearance were continually blocked. He completed all items on his before landing checklist except the landing gear, and by the time he got confirmation to land, he was on short final approach, and he forgot to lower the landing gear. Postcrash examination of the wheels up warning circuit revealed an operable warning horn.
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, flight instructor
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane; instrument: helicopter; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 7,921 hours in all; 555 in this make and model; 8 in the last 90 days; 3 in the last 30 days; 6,881 as pilot in command; 2,481 on instruments
- Last flight review: March 28, 2001
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 7,373.2 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, January 9, 2002; 14.9 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 6,700 lb
- Seats: 8
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine 1: Lycoming TIO 540-J2BD (piston); 0 hours total
- Engine 2: Lycoming TIO 540-J2BD (piston); 0 hours total
- Operator: Twin Air
The flight
- Departed from: MYAM Marsh Harbor CB at 10:03 pm
- Destination: KFLL Ft. Lauderdale FL
- Flight plan: VFR
- Runway 09R, 5,276 ft by 100 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 100° at 9 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 30,000 ft; scat at 9,000 ft
- Temperature: 75°F (24°C), dew point 55°F (13°C)
- Altimeter: 30.06 inHg
- Observation at 11:09 pm from FLL
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 |
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.