Cessna C-402 incident near Miami, Florida, January 7, 1985
On January 7, 1985 at about 12:50 pm local time, a Cessna C-402, registered N60SA, suffered minor damage in an incident near Miami, Florida (Miami Int'L airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). 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
- January 7, 1985 · about 12:50 pm local time
- Place
- Miami, Florida · Miami Int'L · map
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna C-402
- Registration
- N60SA · registry record · serial 0254
- 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
ON 1/7/85 AT ABOUT 0750 EST, N60SA, A CESSNA 402 LANDED LEFTMAIN GEAR COLLAPSED, ON A COMMUTER AIR TAXI, POSITIONING FLIGHT AT MAIMI, FL. VMC PREVAILED AT THE TIME AN IFR FLIGHT PLAN WAS FILED. THE AIRCRAFT RECEIVED MINOR DAMAGE AND THE PILOT, THE SOLE OCCUPANTPANT, REPORTED NO INJURIES. THE FLIGHT ORIGINATED AT MIAMI, FL, AT 0745 EST ON 1/7/85. THE PILOT STATED THAT AFTER TAKEOFF THE NOSE GEAR AND THE RIGHT MAIN GEAR RETRACTED NORMALLY. THE LEFT MAIN GEAR DID NOT RETRACT AND THE PILOT STATED HE HEARD METALIC GRINDING NOISES. THE PILOT CONTINED TO RECYCLE THE GEAR AND ATTEMPTED TO LOWER THE GEAR BY EMERGENCY EXTENSION TO NO AVAIL. HE LANDED ON RUNWAY 30 AT MIAMI INT'L. THE LEFT MAIN GEAR COLLAPSED.
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
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 2,630 hours in all; 540 in this make and model; 270 in the last 90 days; 2,626 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 14,504 hours
- Last inspection: approved inspection programme, December 15, 1984; 758 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 6,300 lb
- Seats: 6
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Continental TSI0520-E (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: MIA Miami FL at 12:45 pm
- Destination: FLL Ft Lauderdale FL
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 30, 9,600 ft by 150 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 310° at 6 knots
- Visibility: 7 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 12:50 pm from MIA
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.