Piper PA-60 incident near W.Palm Beach, Florida, September 16, 1987
On September 16, 1987 at about 7:32 am local time, a Piper PA-60, registered N9784Q, suffered minor damage in an incident near W.Palm Beach, Florida (Palm Beach 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
- September 16, 1987 · about 7:32 am local time
- Place
- W.Palm Beach, Florida · Palm Beach Int'L · map
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-60 · all PA-60s on the register
- Registration
- N9784Q · no longer on the register · serial 60416143
- 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
THE PLT STATED THAT ON LANDING AFTER ROLLING ABOUT 1000 FT. THE SCISSORS ON THE RIGHT MAIN LANDING GEAR STRUT DISCONNECTED CAUSING THE WHEEL ASSEMBLY TO ROTATE & SKID. HE THEN APPLIED HEAVY LEFT BRAKE TO KEEP THE ACFT STRAIGHT ON THE RUNWAY, BUT THE MAIN GEAR COLLAPSED & THE ACFT SLID TO A STOP. POST CRASH EXAMINATION OF THE LANDING GEAR REVEALED THAT THE RIGHT MAIN LANDING GEAR LINK FAILED CAUSING THE WHEEL TO ROTATE 90 DEGREES, SUBSEQUENTLY COLLAPSING THE MAIN GEAR.
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
- Flight time: 2,251 hours in all; 306 in this make and model; 185 in the last 90 days; 2,137 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 5,670 hours
- Last inspection: approved inspection programme, September 8, 1987; 44 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 5,500 lb
- Seats: 6
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Lycoming IO-540-KIFS (piston); 0 hours total
- Operator: Top Flight Service,Inc.
The flight
- Departed from: MIA Miami FL at 7:05 am
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 9L, 7,991 ft by 150 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 75°F (24°C), dew point 73°F (23°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 8:39 am from PBI
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 N9784Q 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.