19950425011199I

Incident · Minor damage

FAA incident report · Piper PA31T1 · Richmond, VA · April 25, 1995

Date: April 25, 1995 · 20:00 local
Place: Richmond, VA
Airport: Private
Phase of flight: Roll-Out (Fixed Wing)
Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
Damage: Minor damage
Aircraft: N23555
Reported as: Piper PA31T1
People aboard: 1
Fatal injuries: 0
Pilot’s flight hours: 7,000 total900 in this make and model

From the FAA’s Accident/Incident Data System (AIDS), through its Aviation Safety Information Portal, as reported. The NTSB investigates accidents separately, and its record of an accident is the fuller one. The aircraft is matched to the registry by N-number and event date, checked against the reported make and model; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.

What happened

The FAA’s narrative, in sentence case. The FAA writes it in capitals and removes private details.

Narrative: while landing at his Private Airport, the pilot put the landing gear handle in the down position but failed to see if it "popped" back to the neutral position as it should. On flairing, he noticed that the nose gear light was red instead of green. He then touched down on the main gear. As the airspeed decreased, the aircraft nosed over and the prop made contact with the ground. No other damage, and there were no injuries. The pilot was counseled about the use of checklists and especially a final check on final approach. Incident closed.

As the FAA filed it

NARRATIVE: WHILE LANDING AT HIS PRIVATE AIRPORT, THE PILOT PUT THE LANDING GEAR HANDLE IN THE DOWN POSITION BUT FAILED TO SEE IF IT "POPPED" BACK TO THE NEUTRAL POSITION AS IT SHOULD. ON FLAIRING, HE NOTICED THAT THE NOSE GEAR LIGHT WAS RED INSTEAD OF GREEN. HE THEN TOUCHED DOWN ON THE MAIN GEAR. AS THE AIRSPEED DECREASED, THE AIRCRAFT NOSED OVER AND THE PROP MADE CONTACT WITH THE GROUND. NO OTHER DAMAGE, AND THERE WERE NO INJURIES. THE PILOT WAS COUNSELED ABOUT THE USE OF CHECKLISTS AND ESPECIALLY A FINAL CHECK ON FINAL APPROACH. INCIDENT CLOSED.