# Incident 20020221003139I: Piper PA31350, Blytheville, AR, February 21, 2002

- Type: FAA incident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: February 21, 2002, 19:45 local time
- Place: Blytheville, AR
- Airport: Blytheville Municipal Airport
- Damage: Minor damage
- Phase of flight: Level Off Touchdown
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 35.9404° N, 89.8308° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs at BLYTHEVILLE MUNI (HKA), within about a mile (OpenAirDocs)
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=35.9404&lon=-89.8308&mi=10
- Aircraft: N4106F, registered now (https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N4106F) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Piper PA-31-350 (registry code 7103110, https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa-31-350) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Lycoming TI0-540 series (registry code 41533, https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-ti0-540-series) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: PIPER PA31350
- People aboard: 1
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Pilot flight hours: 7,500 total, 5,000 in this make and model, 68 in the last 90 days
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20020221003139I

## Narrative

As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^.

(-23) ON FEBRUARY 20, 2002, AT 1945 CENTRAL STANDARD TIME, A PIPER PA-31 MULTI-ENGINE AIRPLANE, N4106F, SUSTAINED MINOR DAMAGE WHEN IT IMPACTED THE RUNWAY IN BLYTHEVILLE, ARKANSAS (HKA). THE AIRPLANE DEPARTED TALLULAH, LOUISIANA (M80) ON A VFR FLIGHT TO BLYTHEVILLE, ARKANSAS (HKA), WHEN THE PILOT RAISED THE LANDING GEAR AFTER TAKE-OFF, HE OBSERVED AN ABNORMAL CONDITION OF THE LANDING GEAR INDICATING LIGHTS. THE PILOT ATTEMPTED TO CYCLE THE LANDING GEAR TO THE DEPLOYED POSITION AND TRIED RETRACTING AGAIN. DURING THE OPERATION THE NOSE GEAR WAS VISIBLE (VIA A MIRROR LOCATED ON THE LEFT ENGINE COWLING) TO BE HANGING AT APPROXIMATELY 30 DEGREE ANGLE TO THE AIRCRAFT AND LITTLE OR NO MOVEMENT WHILE THE MAIN GEAR OPERATED NORMAL. THE PILOT SELECTED TO DEPLOY THE GEAR AGAIN, THE MAINS OPERATED NORMAL AND NO MOVEMENT FROM THE NOSE GEAR. THE PILOT ATTEMPTED TO LOWER THE NOSE GEAR VIA THE MANUAL HYDRAULIC PUMP, THERE WAS LITTLE RESISTANCE AND NO MOVEMENT. THE PILOT MADE THE DECISION TO CONTINUE THE FLIGHT TO HKA, WHICH IS THE AIRCRAFT'S HOME BASE. THE PILOT CONTACTED THE GROUND PERSONNEL AT HKA TO MAKE ARRANGEMENTS FOR EMERGENCY EQUIPMENT AND REVIEW THE EMERGENCY LANDING PROCEDURES. WHEN THE AIRCRAFT WAS ON SHORT FINAL TO RUNWAY 18 AT HKA, THE PILOT SHUT DOWN BOTH ENGINES, FEATHERED THE PROPELLERS, AND SHUT DOWN UNNECESSARY ELECTRICAL EQUIPMENT. AFTER TOUCHDOWN OF THE MAIN LANDING GEAR, THE NOSE OF THE AIRCRAFT CONTACTED WITH THE RUNWAY ALONG THE CENTERLINE FOR APPROXIMATELY 900', UNTIL COMING TO A STOP. THE PILOT SECURED THE AIRCRAFT AND DEPLANED WITHOUT INJURY. THERE WERE NO PASSENGERS ON BOARD THE AIRCRAFT.

From the FAA Accident/Incident Data System. Reports are matched to registry aircraft 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. For accidents, the NTSB's own investigation is the fuller record.

---
OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.