Piper PA-24-260 accident near San Jose, California, February 20, 2023
On February 20, 2023 at about 10:25 pm local time, a 1968 Piper PA-24-260, registered N9267P, was substantially damaged in an accident during landing (landing roll) near San Jose, California (Reid-Hillview Of Santa Clara C 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
A landing gear collapse due to an inadequately maintained landing gear extension and retraction system.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- February 20, 2023 · about 10:25 pm local time
- Place
- San Jose, California · Reid-Hillview Of Santa Clara C · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-24-260, built 1968 · all PA-24-260s on the register
- Registration
- N9267P · registry record · serial 24-4767
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot reported the takeoff and flight were uneventful. During the landing approach, the landing gear did not extend. After performing a series of troubleshooting steps with no success, the pilot decided to return to his home airport and perform a manual gear extension. During the return flight, the manual gear system appeared to be jammed, so he continued to troubleshoot and performed a series of high-G maneuvers to help the gear extend. After multiple attempts the landing gear extended; however, the gear indication system did not show the gear was locked in the down position. The pilot continued with the landing, which was uneventful, until he retarded the throttle during the landing roll and the nose gear and main gear retracted. Postaccident examination revealed that the landing gear extension motor would intermittently seize, often without tripping its circuit breaker. Because the airplane was equipped with an emergency gear extension system, this event alone should not have been cause for concern, and the pilot followed the correct procedures to resolve the problem. However, the manual emergency gear extension system was also jammed because of significant wear to its release arm. Additionally, due to a worn and out of adjustment nose gear drag link assembly, even when the pilot was able to force the gear down with the manual system, it did not lock in place. Due to the design of the system, this out of adjustment condition was masked by the landing gear motor transmission, which under normal operation drove the drag links into the locked position. An airworthiness directive had been issued to resolve the gear collapse issue following manual extension, and this appeared to have been completed and was not due at the time of the accident. Even though it was not due, the wear observed to multiple landing gear components should have warranted further examination and repair by maintenance personnel during the annual inspection, which was completed one week before the accident.
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
What happened, in order
- Landing gear collapse during landing (landing roll) defining event
- Abnormal runway contact during landing (landing roll)
The NTSB's findings
- Aircraft › Aircraft systems › Landing gear system › Gear extension and retract sys › Fatigue/wear/corrosion
- Personnel issues › Task performance › Maintenance › Scheduled/routine maintenance › Maintenance personnel
- Aircraft › Aircraft systems › Landing gear system › Gear extension and retract sys › Not serviced/maintained
Pilot
- Certificate: private
- Ratings: single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 3,103 hours in all; 2,254 in this make and model; 5.3 in the last 90 days; 2.6 in the last 30 days; 2,997 as pilot in command
- Last flight review: February 28, 2022
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (without waivers/limitations)
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 7,095.5 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, February 13, 2023; 2 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,100 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Lycoming IO-540-D4A5 (piston); 7,099 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: RHV San Jose CA at 7:48 pm
- Destination: HAF Half Moon Bay CA
- Flight plan: VFR
- Runway 31L, 3,100 ft by 75 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 340° at 8 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 9,000 ft; a few clouds at 6,000 ft
- Temperature: 64°F (18°C), dew point 39°F (4°C)
- Altimeter: 30.11 inHg
- Observation at 1:53 pm from KSJC, 6 miles away
Weather report (METAR): METAR KSJC 202153Z 34008KT 10SM FEW060 BKN090 OVC160 18/04 A3011 RMK AO2 SLP195 T01830039=
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flig | 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.
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 WPR23LA116.