Piper PA-34-200T incident near Miami, Florida, May 6, 1989
On May 6, 1989 at about 3:07 am local time, a Piper PA-34-200T, registered N859SC, suffered minor damage in an incident near Miami, Florida (Miami Intl airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). No one was hurt; 3 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
FATIGUE FAILURE OF THE LEFT MAIN LANDING GEAR TRUNNION. A CONTRIBUTING FACTOR WAS: INADEQUATE INSPECTION PROCEDURE IN PIPER SERVICE BULLETIN #787A.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- May 6, 1989 · about 3:07 am local time
- Place
- Miami, Florida · Miami Intl · map
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 3 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-34-200T · all PA-34-200Ts on the register
- Registration
- N859SC · registry record · serial 34-8070303
- 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 RPRTD THAT AFTER THE ACFT HAD TOUCHED DOWN & ROLLED APRX 400 TO 600 FT, THE LEFT MAIN GEAR COLLAPSED & THE ACFT VEERED OFF THE LEFT SIDE OF THE RWY. AN INVESTIGATION REVEALED THE LEFT MAIN LANDING GEAR TRUNNION HAD FAILED FROM FATIGUE. THE FAILURE OCCURRED THRU THE BARREL NEXT TO THE LOWER END OF THE FILLET. A METALLURGICAL EXAM SHOWED THE FATIGUE HAD ORIGINATED AT THE BASE OF A GRINDING MARK. SEVERAL SECONDARY CRACKS WERE ALSO FOUND WHICH ORIGINATED FROM GRINDING MARKS NEXT TO THE FATIGUE FRACTURE. THE AIRPLANE LOGBOOK SHOWED THE TRUNNION HAD BEEN INSPECTED AT THE LAST 100 HR INSPECTION IAW PIPER SERVICE BULLETIN (S/B) #787A. THE ACFT HAD FLOWN ABOUT 80 HRS SINCE THAT INSPECTION. THE S/B REQUIRMENT WAS TO 'PROPERLY CLEAN THE TRUNNION HOUSING OF DIRT AND PAINT AND CAREFULLY INSPECT THE HOUSING FOR CRACKS WITH A 10 POWER GLASS AT THE LOWER END OF THE FILLET.'
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: commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 3,136 hours in all; 564 in this make and model; 217 in the last 90 days; 84 in the last 30 days; 2,834 as pilot in command; 849 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 2,323 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, March 26, 1989; 80 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 4,570 lb
- Seats: 6
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Continental L/TSIO-360 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: SRQ Sarasota FL at 2:00 am
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 9L, 10,500 ft by 200 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: night, bright
- Wind: from 160° at 5 knots
- Visibility: 7 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 7,000 ft
- Temperature: 79°F (26°C), dew point 73°F (23°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 2:50 am from MIA
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 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.