Crash location | 40.799166°N, 74.414722°W
Reported location is a long distance from the NTSB's reported nearest city. This often means that the location has a typo, or is incorrect. |
Nearest city | Morristown, NJ
40.425107°N, 74.253756°W 27.2 miles away |
Tail number | N13878 |
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Accident date | 20 Mar 2006 |
Aircraft type | Piper PA23-250 |
Additional details: | None |
According to the pilot, landing gear indications were normal for both the pre-flight inspection and gear retraction after takeoff. However, at the destination airport, the right main landing gear down indication did not illuminate when the landing gear was lowered. The pilot flew by the control tower, and was advised that the landing gear "appeared to be down." The pilot subsequently switched indicator bulbs, and determined that the bulb was not the problem. The pilot did not report attempting to pump the landing gear down. Because of the amount of fuel onboard, the pilot decided to feather and shut down both engines during the final approach. However, after doing so, the airplane struck a berm short of the runway. A Federal Aviation Administration inspector reported that damage to the airplane precluded further investigation of the landing gear system.
The pilot's premature shutdown of both engines, which resulted in a forced landing short of the runway. A factor was a landing gear malfunction indication for undetermined reasons.