Piper PA-24-250 accident near Auburn, Washington, August 19, 2006
On August 19, 2006 at about 2:05 am local time, a Piper PA-24-250, registered N6249P, was substantially damaged in an accident near Auburn, Washington (Auburn Municipal Airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 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
The failure of the landing gear's normal retraction/extension assembly due to an overload condition.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- August 19, 2006 · about 2:05 am local time
- Place
- Auburn, Washington · Auburn Municipal Airport · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 3 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-24-250 · all PA-24-250s on the register
- Registration
- N6249P · registry record · serial 24-1356
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
After taking off and determining that the landing gear would not retract properly, and believing that the gear was in the down and locked position, the pilot elected to proceed to the destination airport. After touching down and rolling out on the main landing gear wheels, the nose landing gear was then lowered onto the runway's surface. After the nose landing gear contacted the runway all three landing gear retracted. A post-accident examination of the airplane revealed that the landing gear retraction motor had separated from its rear bulkhead attachment. The component's rivets were fractured in the contact surface plane, with deformation and smeared features observed to be consistent with overstress. It could not be determined when the overstress event occurred.
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: private
- Ratings: single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 315 hours in all; 178 in this make and model; 16 in the last 90 days; 7 in the last 30 days; 286 as pilot in command
- Last flight review: September 1, 2005
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (without waivers/limitations)
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 5,061 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, November 1, 2005
- Maximum gross weight: 2,800 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Lycoming O-540-A1C5 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: AST Astoria OR at 1:00 am
- Destination: S50 Auburn WA
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 34, 3,400 ft by 75 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 350° at 11 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: a few clouds at 24,937 ft
- Temperature: 36°F (2°C), dew point 48°F (9°C)
- Altimeter: 30.04 inHg
- Observation at 1:56 am from SEA, 8 miles away
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.