19950428009889I

Incident · Minor damage

FAA incident report · Piper PA-23-250 · Thibodaux, LA · April 28, 1995

Date
April 28, 1995 · 19:15 local
Place
Thibodaux, LA
Airport
Thibodaux Municipal Airport
Phase of flight
Fcd/Prec Ldg From Cruise
Operating rules
General operating rules (Part 91)
Damage
Minor damage
Aircraft
N14289
Reported as
Piper PA23250
Reported engine
Lycoming IO540C1B5
People aboard
1
Fatal injuries
0
Pilot’s flight hours
775 total10 in this make and model13 in the last 90 days

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: the pilot stated that she elected to land the aircraft because she had noticed low fuel indication in the left fuel tank and engine roughness. The pilot also stated that the landing gear lights did not illuminate during the approach. To ensure that the landing gear was in the landing position, the pilot held the gear handle down with her right knee. An investigation of the incident revealed that the pilot exhibited poor judgement and lacked knowledge of the aircraft's fuel and landing gear system. privacy data omitted

As the FAA filed it

NARRATIVE: THE PILOT STATED THAT SHE ELECTED TO LAND THE AIRCRAFT BECAUSE SHE HAD NOTICED LOW FUEL INDICATION IN THE LEFT FUEL TANK AND ENGINE ROUGHNESS. THE PILOT ALSO STATED THAT THE LANDING GEAR LIGHTS DID NOT ILLUMINATE DURING THE APPROACH. TO ENSURE THAT THE LANDING GEAR WAS IN THE LANDING POSITION, THE PILOT HELD THE GEAR HANDLE DOWN WITH HER RIGHT KNEE. AN INVESTIGATION OF THE INCIDENT REVEALED THAT THE PILOT EXHIBITED POOR JUDGEMENT AND LACKED KNOWLEDGE OF THE AIRCRAFT'S FUEL AND LANDING GEAR SYSTEM. ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^