19980825028539I

Incident · Minor damage

FAA incident report · Piper PA-31-350 · Naples, FL · August 25, 1998

Date: August 25, 1998 · 10:30 local
Place: Naples, FL
Airport: Naples Municipal
Phase of flight: Roll-Out (Fixed Wing)
Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
Operator: IL7A
Damage: Minor damage
Aircraft: N551CA
Reported as: Piper PA31350
People aboard: 1
Fatal injuries: 0
Pilot’s flight hours: 3,100 total

N551CARegistration cancelled Jan 5, 2018 · Piper PA-31-350S/N 31-7852147 · Built 1978 Airframe modelPiper PA-31-350 Engine modelLycoming TI0-540 seriesTurbo-prop

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.

After maint. Test flight, pilot intiated hyd system check by shutting down rt eng and cycling gear lever. Lever did not snap back to neutral and pilot moved lever manually, bypassing neutral and moving lever to gear up position. Nose gear retracted, damaging both props. Both engines & props removed for stoppage inspeciton/repair. Maint found lever solenoid stuck in closed position, replaced solenoid & lever operates normally - retract test ok.

As the FAA filed it

AFTER MAINT. TEST FLIGHT, PILOT INTIATED HYD SYSTEM CHECK BY SHUTTING DOWN RT ENG AND CYCLING GEAR LEVER. LEVER DID NOT SNAP BACK TO NEUTRAL AND PILOT MOVED LEVER MANUALLY, BYPASSING NEUTRAL AND MOVING LEVER TO GEAR UP POSITION. NOSE GEAR RETRACTED, DAMAGING BOTH PROPS. BOTH ENGINES & PROPS REMOVED FOR STOPPAGE INSPECITON/REPAIR. MAINT FOUND LEVER SOLENOID STUCK IN CLOSED POSITION, REPLACED SOLENOID & LEVER OPERATES NORMALLY - RETRACT TEST OK.