19970906033429I

Incident · Minor damage

FAA incident report · Piper PA 46-350P · Sebastian, FL · September 6, 1997

Date
September 6, 1997 · 14:15 local
Place
Sebastian, FL
Airport
Sebastian Municipal Airport
Phase of flight
Fcd/Prec Ldg From Cruise
Operating rules
General operating rules (Part 91)
Damage
Minor damage
Aircraft
N92696
Reported as
Piper PA46350P
People aboard
2
Fatal injuries
0
Pilot’s flight hours
3,567 total129 in this make and model175 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: total electrical system failure occurred during alternator cooling tests. Pilot attempted to extend landing gear in the emergency mode. Pilot did not overcome the high input force required to activate the free fall gear extension system. Aircraft landed with the landing gear up. Propeller was bent, and the belly skin suffered minor damage.

As the FAA filed it

NARRATIVE: TOTAL ELECTRICAL SYSTEM FAILURE OCCURRED DURING ALTERNATOR COOLING TESTS. PILOT ATTEMPTED TO EXTEND LANDING GEAR IN THE EMERGENCY MODE. PILOT DID NOT OVERCOME THE HIGH INPUT FORCE REQUIRED TO ACTIVATE THE FREE FALL GEAR EXTENSION SYSTEM. AIRCRAFT LANDED WITH THE LANDING GEAR UP. PROPELLER WAS BENT, AND THE BELLY SKIN SUFFERED MINOR DAMAGE.