Piper PA32R N990DM

Summary

On 20 August 2025 at about 22:16 local time, a Piper PA32R registered N990DM was involved in an accident near Miami, Florida, 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

20 August 2025 at 22:16

Classification

Accident

Location

Miami, Florida, United States

Nearest airport

Miami Exec (TMB)

Coordinates

25.6500, -80.4300

Aircraft

Piper PA32R

Registration

N990DM

Category

Airplane

Year built

1977

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Santiago → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA25LA314

Nobody was injured.

An inflight loss of hydraulic fluid from the landing gear system through a cracked fitting, which resulted in a landing gear collapse upon touchdown.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot reported that while enroute the “Warn Gear Unsafe” indicator illuminated and a decrease in airspeed was observed. After confirming that the airplane had enough fuel to reach the destination the pilot attempted to lower the landing gear. He placed the landing gear selector in the down position, but the landing gear position indicator lights were not illuminated. The pilot then followed the checklist for the emergency landing gear extension, but the gear indicator lights still did not illuminate, so he attempted multiple high G maneuvers to attempt to lock the landing gear to no avail. He then performed a low pass of the air traffic control tower who reported that the gear appeared to be down and locked. Upon touchdown the landing gear collapsed, and the airplane sustained substantial damage to the fuselage. Postaccident examination of the airplane revealed that the hydraulic system contained only trace amounts of fluid. The system was then serviced with hydraulic fluid and operated successfully. Further examination of the hydraulic system found that hydraulic fluid was leaking from a cracked fitting. Based on this information, it is likely that the inflight loss of hydraulic fluid through the cracked fitting resulted in the system failing to operate as intended.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.