Dassault DA-20 accident near Boise, Idaho, November 27, 1999
On November 27, 1999 at about 8:34 am local time, a Dassault DA-20, registered N216SA, was substantially damaged in an accident near Boise, Idaho (Boise Air Terminal airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
Failure of the forward gear door lock pin. An inoperative landing gear door and inadequate maintenance inspection of the aircraft were factors.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- November 27, 1999 · about 8:34 am local time
- Place
- Boise, Idaho · Boise Air Terminal · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Dassault DA-20
- Registration
- N216SA · no longer on the register · serial 16
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
After extending the gear for landing, the down-and-locked indication (green light) for the left main gear was not illuminated. The crew performed the emergency checklist procedures for abnormal gear extension with no success. The aircraft subsequently landed with the left main landing gear retracted. Inspection of the landing gear revealed that the pin (part number MY20248-001), which is part of the forward gear door lock, was corroded and cracked at the point of rotation, preventing proper movement of the gear door uplock.
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, flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 19,519 hours in all; 341 in this make and model; 208 in the last 90 days; 106 in the last 30 days; 17,143 as pilot in command; 1,307 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 28,855 hours
- Last inspection: approved inspection programme, October 27, 1999; 142 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 28,660 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Ge CF-700 (turbofan); 0 hours total
- Operator: Smith Air, INC.
The flight
- Departed from: OMA Omaha NE at 6:10 am
- Destination: BOI
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 10L, 10,000 ft by 150 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 140° at 9 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 7,000 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 43°F (6°C), dew point 36°F (2°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 8:56 am from BOI
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 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.