Precision Airlines Dornier DO-228-202 accident
Dornier DO-228-202 · Accident: airframe, component or system failure during initial climb
From Boston Logan International Airport (BOS) to Manchester-Boston Regional Airport (MHT)
Narrative check · The NTSB narrative appears to contradict this record's departure or destination. Values are shown as recorded, not corrected; compare with the narrative.
Event
- NTSB case
- BFO93LA020
- Event typeAccident: someone killed or seriously injured, or the aircraft substantially damaged (NTSB definition). Incident: an occurrence that affected or could have affected safety, short of that. Glossary
- Accident
- InvestigationHow far the investigation had got when the record was published: preliminary, ongoing, final or completed. Unknown where the source does not say. Glossary
- Completed
- API-reported fatalities
- 0 · all aircraft and ground
- Ground fatalities
- 0
- OperationWhat kind of flying it was, grouped by the rules it flew under: airline (US Part 121), air taxi and commuter (Part 135), general aviation (Part 91 and similar), military or government. Glossary
- Charter & commuter
- WeatherVisual meteorological conditions (VMC): good enough to fly by looking outside. Instrument conditions (IMC): cloud or low visibility, flying by instruments. Glossary
- Visual Meteorological Cond
Dornier DO-228-202
- Aircraft type
- Dornier DO-228
- Category
- Airplane
- RegistrationThe aircraft's tail number, such as N12345 or G-ABCD. Registrations are reissued, so the same one years apart can be a different aircraft. Glossary
- N245RP
- Operator
- Precision Airlines
- Onboard fatalities
- Unknown
- Route Possible conflict
- From Boston Logan International Airport (BOS), Boston, MATo Manchester-Boston Regional Airport (MHT), NH
- Aircraft age
- Not recorded
- Flight rulesThe regulations the flight operated under: in the US, Part 91 (general aviation), Part 121 (airlines), Part 135 (air taxi and commuter) and others; for flights abroad, the NTSB's coarser commercial or non-commercial code. Glossary
- Part 135: Air Taxi & Commuter
- Phase of flightThe stage of the flight when things started to go wrong: standing, taxi, takeoff, initial climb, en route, maneuvering, approach or landing. Glossary
- Initial climb
- First occurrenceThe single coded event the NTSB judges best describes what happened (records from 2008 on). Older records name the first occurrence in the sequence instead. Glossary
- Airframe, component or system failure
- DamageDestroyed: beyond practical repair. Substantial: damage that affects the structure, performance or handling and normally needs major repair. Minor: less than that. Glossary
- Substantial
Cause areas
- Landing gear, gear locking mechanism › Not engaged
- Other maintenance personnel › Installation, improper
Approximate · Estimated position: the centre of Manchester, NH, the place the record names. Not the accident site.
NTSB narrative
DURING THE INITIAL CLIMB AFTER TAKEOFF, THE PILOT REPORTED THAT WHEN THE GEAR WAS RETRACTED, THERE WAS AN UNSAFE GEAR WARNING. AFTER SEVERAL UNSUCCESSFUL ATTEMPTS TO CORRECT THE CONDITION, INCLUDING RECYCLING THE GEAR FOUR TIMES, THE FLIGHT DIVERTED. ALTHOUGH THE PILOT HAD DOWN AND LOCK INDICATION FOR THE THREE GEAR DURING THE RECYCLING, AFTER THE FOURTH CYCLE, THERE WAS NO GEAR INDICATION, DESPITE ATTEMPTS TO EXTEND IT USING THE EMERGENCY GEAR EXTENSION SYSTEM. THE PILOT DID A LOW PASS OVER THE AIRPORT WHERE AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL PERSONNEL CONFIRMED THE NOSE GEAR WAS NOT EXTENDED. THE PILOT SUBSEQUENTLY LANDED NOSE GEAR UP. EXAMINATION OF THE NOSE GEAR ASSEMBLY REVEALED THE NOSE GEAR SHOCK STRUT WAS COLLAPSED ABOUT THREE QUARTERS OF AN INCH FROM FULL EXTENSION, WHICH PREVENTED THE STRUT FROM ENGAGING THE UPLOCK DURING RETRACTION, AND PREVENT THE DEACTIVATION OF THE UNSAFE WARNING DURING EXTENSION. IT WAS ALSO DETERMINED THAT THE PARTIALLY EXTENDED STRUT COULD IMPROPERLY CONTACT THE UPLOCK, RESTRICTING THE MOVEMENT OF THE STRUT. FURTHER DISASSEMBLY CONFIRMED THE INCORRECT INSTALLATION OF THE TWO INTERNAL SEALS, WHICH WOULD PREVENT THE STRUT FROM EXTENDING FULLY.
Probable cause
INCORRECT INSTALLATION OF THE SEALS IN THE NOSE GEAR ASSEMBLY, WHICH PREVENTED THE NOSE GEAR FROM LOCKING IN THE DOWN POSITION.
Verbatim NTSB analysis and probable cause from the NTSB dataset
Sources
NTSB record BFO93LA020
- Event ID
- 20001211X11657
- Case number
- BFO93LA020
- Dataset
- historical-pre2008
- Source SHA-256
- 89e2df6d848e7ab3b42e7d7c7a03ff403303057a26ca04c95b3ea67201c3ce74
Source notes (4)
- Unreviewed is an editorial label, not an investigation status. API-sourced is not report-checked or human-reviewed. Explicit event totals are used without summing aircraft injury tables; onboard allocation is withheld. Unknown values remain unknown. The operation category is mapped from the NTSB-reported FAR part and has not been reviewed.
- Filled from the NTSB case API where the bulk record had no value: investigation status. Values present in the bulk record are kept.
- The date is the local date, which is the same as the UTC date the NTSB stores.
- API snapshot SHA-256: ef1383a56e1095839eeef20f973361e97c47ed95cb1f16a17702bbdb33f1483e; retrieved 2026-09-18T18:41:37.697Z.