19970912026599A

Aircraft crashed on landing. (.4)the pilot said that the landing gear down lights did not come on and he executed a go-around so the tower could visually check the gear's position. The tower confirmed that the gear appeared down. On crosswind, the aircraft descended and struck a fence. The pilot said the engine began sputtering when he initiated the climb. Witnesses, including another pilot in the pattern, reported seeing the aircraft in a nose high attitude with the wings oscillating before the aircraft entered a stall and descended behind buildings. The pilot was in the left seat for the flight. A statement of demonstrated alility was issued on March 17, 1987, for a right arm amputation from the shoulder down on the basis of a special medical flight test in a non-complex Piper PA28-180. The FAA inspector who conducted the flight test issued a student pilot certificate with several limitations, which were not transferred to his subsequent temporary and permanent pilot certificates as required by pertinent FAA orders. The CFR who flew with the pilot just before this flight noted that he had many difficulties in controlling the aircraft and working the trim, adjusting the power settings, operating the gear controls, talking on the radio, and moving the flap control handle. In any of those operations, the pilot had to hold the yoke with his knees and reach across his body. The CFI said the pilot needed more work and did not endorse him for high performance aircraft. Postaccident examination of the aircraft revealed no evidence of failure or malfuncition with the flight controls or engine. Fuel system continuity was established. A measured 2.5 gallons were drained from the left wing tank and 1.5 gallons from the right wing tank (unusable fuel in each tank is 1-gallon). A screw that attaches to the bus was found to be missing from the landing gear indicator circuit breaker. The system had been worked on by a maintenance facility just before the flight. Prior the the 4.5-hour accident flight, the pilot had logged 3 hours in high performance aircraft with a CFI. Most of the aircraft controls, normal and emergency, are on the pilot's right side. The pilot wore no prosthetic device during the accident flight. None of the passengers were rated pilots.