Lake LA 4 N7628L

Summary

On 25 July 2017 at about 20:10 local time, a Lake LA 4 registered N7628L was involved in an accident near Byron, California, United States. 2 people were on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

25 July 2017 at 20:10

Classification

Accident

Location

Byron, California, United States

Nearest airport

Byron (C83)

Coordinates

37.8267, -121.6231

Aircraft

Lake LA 4

Registration

N7628L

Category

Airplane

Year built

1969

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Livermore → Byron

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

WPR17LA165

Nobody was injured.

The pilot’s failure to activate the hydraulic system during the approach, and his failure to ensure that the landing gear was down and locked before touchdown. Contributing to the accident was the pilot's decision to operate the airplane with an inoperative landing gear position indicator light.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

During landing, the nose landing gear and right main landing gear collapsed, and the airplane veered off the runway. The pilot stated that it was likely that he switched the hydraulic pump off during the accident flight. Although both the hydraulic switch position and checking the hydraulic system pressure were included in his before-landing checklist, he could not recall their position and indication, respectively, during the accident approach. The pilot also reported that he had been experiencing issues with the landing gear microswitches, and the airplane's landing gear indicator light was inoperative as a result. Postaccident examination of the airplane and landing gear system revealed no evidence of mechanical malfunctions or anomalies that would have precluded normal operation. It is likely that the pilot's failure to properly configure the hydraulic switch, and his subsequent failure to recognize the error during his before-landing check, resulted in inadequate hydraulic pressure to extend and lock the landing gear. The airplane's inoperative landing gear indicator light likely contributed to the pilot's failure to recognize that the landing gear was not fully extended and locked before landing.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.