19960511020459I

Incident · Minor damage

FAA incident report · Sphrth Cirrus · Byron, CA · May 11, 1996

Date: May 11, 1996 · 15:35 local
Place: Byron, CA
Airport: Byron Airport
Phase of flight: Level Off Touchdown
Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
Damage: Minor damage
Aircraft: N13D
Reported as: Sphrth Cirrus
People aboard: 1
Fatal injuries: 0
Pilot’s flight hours: 825 total2 in this make and model2 in the last 90 days

N13DRegistered now · Schempp-Hirth STANDARD CIRRUSS/N 171 · Built 1971 Airframe modelSchempp-Hirth STANDARD CIRRUS Engine modelNONENone

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: approach was normal. The pilot noticed that the landing gear was not locked down. (It did not appear to be in the detent.) The pilot's left hand was occupied on the spoiler handle his right hand was occupied on the stick. He let go of the stick with his right hand to grasp the landing gear handle. This allowed the stick to go forward causing the aircraft to pitch down. The pilot stated that he was too low to recover and hit the ground hard. The landing gear was retracted by impact with the ground due to being in the unlocked position.

As the FAA filed it

NARRATIVE: APPROACH WAS NORMAL. THE PILOT NOTICED THAT THE LANDING GEAR WAS NOT LOCKED DOWN. (IT DID NOT APPEAR TO BE IN THE DETENT.) THE PILOT'S LEFT HAND WAS OCCUPIED ON THE SPOILER HANDLE HIS RIGHT HAND WAS OCCUPIED ON THE STICK. HE LET GO OF THE STICK WITH HIS RIGHT HAND TO GRASP THE LANDING GEAR HANDLE. THIS ALLOWED THE STICK TO GO FORWARD CAUSING THE AIRCRAFT TO PITCH DOWN. THE PILOT STATED THAT HE WAS TOO LOW TO RECOVER AND HIT THE GROUND HARD. THE LANDING GEAR WAS RETRACTED BY IMPACT WITH THE GROUND DUE TO BEING IN THE UNLOCKED POSITION.