Piper PA-32R-300 incident near Orlando, Florida, September 25, 1983
On September 25, 1983 at about 5:56 pm local time, a Piper PA-32R-300, registered N301WA, suffered minor damage in an incident near Orlando, Florida (Orlando airport). It was a business 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 NTSB has not yet published a probable cause for this incident. Investigations usually take one to two years; this page updates when the final report is released.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- September 25, 1983 · about 5:56 pm local time
- Place
- Orlando, Florida · Orlando · map
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-32R-300 · all PA-32R-300s on the register
- Registration
- N301WA · no longer on the register · serial 32R7780411
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Flight
- Business flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
ACFT MADE AN INTENTIONAL GEAR UP LANDING AFTER BOTH NORMAL & EMERGENCY PROCEDURES FAILED TO LOWER THE GEAR. IT WAS DETERMINED THAT THE HYDRAULIC PUMP MOTOR HAD FAILED. NORMAL & EMERGENCY SYSTEMS WERE INTERDEPENDENT. THE EMERGENCY GEAR DIAPHRAGM WAS BLOCKED BY MUD DAUBER MATERIAL.
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 single-engine; instrument: airplane; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 3,868 hours in all; 850 in this make and model; 277 in the last 90 days; 3,560 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 1,650 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, September 15, 1983; 12 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,400 lb
- Seats: 7
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Avco Lycoming IO540-R16TO (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: IKB Wilkesboro at 1:00 pm
- Destination: ORL Orlando FL
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 7, 5,998 ft by 150 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 050° at 20 knots
- Visibility: 15 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 3,000 ft
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
- Observation at 5:52 pm from ORL
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.
Other NTSB records under N301WA 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.