CEN25LA079

On January 15, 2025, about 1630 central standard time, a Piper PA-25-250 airplane, N8051P was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Tyler, Texas. The pilot was not injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 91 personal flight. The pilot reported that just before the accident flight, the airplane’s battery was not charged, and the airplane was connected to a truck using jumper cables to start the engine. The airplane proceeded to take off from runway 04 at the Tyler Pounds Regional Airport (TYR) and was cleared for a left turn from the airport. As the pilot began the turn, he noticed sparking and smoke emanating from the instrument panel and the cabin began to fill with smoke. He turned off the generator switch and the sparking and smoke subsided, and he turned back toward TYR. At this time, the aircraft radios were not operating, and the pilot switched the generator back on so that he could communicate with air traffic control. The sparking and smoke started again, and he again turned off the generator. He maneuvered the airplane for runway 04 and when he was on a base leg of the traffic pattern, he turned on the generator to lower the airplane’s landing gear. He believed the landing gear was down and locked and turned the generator off again and continued the landing. During the landing, the airplane’s landing gear collapsed and resulted in substantial damage to the airplane’s lower fuselage.