20020512013369I

(-23) 05-12-02: On the afternoon of Sunday, may 13, this private pilot and passenger were returning to north Las Vegas airport at the conclusion of a VFR flight from bullhead, AZ. The arrival for runway 07 was normal until the aircraft was in the flare at which time the pilot realized the landing gear were not down and locked. The pilot thought the tail of the aircraft had made contact, and he initiated a go-around. He asked ATC to verify the gear was down as he flew by and prepared for another approach. On the word the gear "appeared to be down", he made another approach to the runway with the same result, this time with the impression that the propeller may have contacted the runway. The pilot climbed away from the runway environment again, and was instructed to orbit over the airport while the emergency equipment was moved into place. The tower put him in contact with personnel of the flight school from whom he had rented the aircraft. He then followed their instructions to leave the airport traffic area and proceeded some 7-10 miles northwest to a VFR practice area. In the practice area he was instructed as the procedure for an emergency gear extension. The pilot was able to get "greens" on the main gear only, but decided to return for landing in that configuration when the airplane began to vibrate heavily. The nose gear annunciator displayed down and locked as the pilot made an approach for an emergency landing on runway 30. The pilot taxiied in as normal, however, the propeller tips were curled aft 6-7 inches, the tail tie down was ground down one quarter inch, and the right side step showed contact with the runway. The main tires were abraided outboard of the tread area as if they had been applied to the runway at an extreme angle. The gear doors were undamaged. Mechanics later determined that the electric gear pump motor was inoperative. North Las Vegas air traffic control tower did not refer this event to flight standards as an incident. Rather, it was reported to me by the chief pilot of the flight school by telephone, same day. This cherokee arrow has an electrically controlled, hydraulically actuated retractable gear system. A unique feature is that the landing gear will extend automatically if the pilot forgets it, as a function of airspeed and throttle position. However, this system can be overridden, or disabled, depending on the position of a small lever on the console that houses the elevator trim (between the two front seats). In this case, the gear must be extended intentionally in theusual way. The subject pilot flew his trip and returned to the runway at north Las Vegas with the automatic system disabled. Notwithstanding his representations to the contrary, on his arrival, he either forgot to extend the gear, or extended it in ground effect. The gear stopped at about 45-50 degrees and stayed there until he manually extended the gear in the practice area. The gear was in this configuration for the first two landing attempts, either because the motor burned out on the first extension, or failed as a result of being counter-loaded by contact with the runway on the first extension.