Piper PA-24-250 accident near Naples, Florida, September 8, 1999
On September 8, 1999 at about 6:17 pm local time, a Piper PA-24-250, registered N980AC, was substantially damaged in an accident near Naples, Florida (Naples Municipal airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
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The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's failure to perform manual gear extension procedures with a suspected unsafe landing gear indication which resulted in a collapse of the main landing gear on landing rollout. A factor in the accident was the pilot's lack of total experience in kind of aircraft.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- September 8, 1999 · about 6:17 pm local time
- Place
- Naples, Florida · Naples Municipal · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-24-250 · all PA-24-250s on the register
- Registration
- N980AC · registry record · serial 24-3359
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot completed a before landing check and lowered the landing gear. She did not observe a green light and recycled the landing gear with negative results. She contacted the control tower and was advised that a medical evacuation aircraft was close by. The medical evacuation pilot and the control tower subsequently advised the pilot that the landing gear appeared to be down. The pilot did not perform the manual gear extension procedures listed in the checklist and continued with the landing. During landing rollout the landing gear collapsed. Examination of the airplane revealed the navigation lights were on. When the navigation light were turned off, the landing gear indicator light went to the full bright position. When the navigation lights were turned 'on,' the landing gear light would dim for night operation. The airplane was placed on jacks and the landing gear was extended using the manual gear extension. A functional check of the landing gear warning horn and light system was completed with negative results. The pilot received a 1.2 hour check out in the airplane before the accident flight.
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, private
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; single-engine sea; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 727 hours in all; 1 in this make and model; 11 in the last 90 days; 11 in the last 30 days; 556 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 5,549 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, July 12, 1999; 77 hours since
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Lycoming IO-540-C1B5 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: MTH Marathon FL at 5:30 pm
- Destination: APF
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 23, 5,000 ft by 150 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 280° at 10 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 15,000 ft; scat at 3,000 ft
- Temperature: 91°F (33°C), dew point 73°F (23°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 6:17 pm from APF
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 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 N980AC the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
About this page
Everything above comes from the NTSB's public accident database: the narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words, and the coded tables behind its report (pilot, aircraft, flight, weather, injuries, sequence of events) are written out in plain English. Pilots' ages, home towns and medical details are left out on purpose. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, the folder of records gathered during the investigation, shown as the NTSB released them (the NTSB redacts some personal details first) and listed under the NTSB's own titles. This site's own text never names pilots, passengers or anyone else involved. A preliminary report describes what is known soon after the event and can change; the final report, with the probable cause, usually follows one to two years later and this page is refreshed when it does. Case number MIA99LA265.