# Incident 20050209001759I: Piper PA34200, Miami, FL, February 9, 2005 - Type: FAA incident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported - Date: February 9, 2005, 18:30 local time - Place: Miami, FL - Airport: Tamiami Airport - Damage: Substantial damage - Phase of flight: Level Off Touchdown - Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91) - Location: 25.7503° N, 80.3742° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs at Tamiami Airport, closed, within about a mile (OpenAirDocs) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=25.7503&lon=-80.3742&mi=10 - Aircraft: N246HG, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N246HG-2007-07-13) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry model: Piper PA-34-200 (registry code 7103405, https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa-34-200) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: Lycoming I0360 SER A&C (registry code 41511, https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-i0360-ser-a-c) (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: PIPER PA34200 - Reported engine: LYC IO360C1E6 - People aboard: 2 - Fatal injuries: 0 - Pilot flight hours: 165 in this make and model, 91 in the last 90 days - FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/) - Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20050209001759I ## Narrative As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^. (-23) ON 10 FEB 2005 AT APPROX 0800 INSPECTORS FROM MIAMI FSDO WERE ASSIGNED TO WORK INCIDENT INVESTIGATION INVOLVING A GEAR UP LANDING OF AIRCRAFT N246HG AT TMB AIRPORT, MIAMI, FL. THAT SAME MORNING INSPECTORS DISPATCHED TO LOCATION WHERE AIRCRAFT WAS PARKED. AIRCRAFT WAS FOUND WITH LANDING GEAR DOWN AND LOCKED ON THE GROUND. LEFT ENGINE PROP WAS SEVERELY BENT BACKWARDS FROM IMPACT WITH GROUND. UNDER CARRIAGE SKID STRUCTURE WAS SCRAPED FROM CONTACT WITH GROUND. RIGHT ENGINE PROP WAS IN FEATHER WITH NO DAMAGE. NO OTHER SIGNIFICANT DAMAGE WAS OBSERVED. INSPECTION OF COCKPIT REVEALED THAT LANDING GEAR HANDLE WAS IN THE DOWN POSITION AND THROTTLE, MIXTURE AND PROP CONTROLS WERE BACK AT IDLE/CUTOFF. WE INTERVIEWED ^PRIVACY DATA OM^ THE MECHANIC WHO RECOVERED THE AIRCRAFT THE NIGHT BEFORE. ^PRIVACY DA^ STATES THAT WHEN HE REPORTED TO ACCIDENT SCENE HE FOUND AIRCRAFT WITH GEAR HANDLE DOWN. WHEN HE ASKED THE PILOT WHAT HAPPENED THE PILOT STATED THAT THE LANDING GEAR CIRCUIT BREAKER POPPED AFTER HE PUT THE GEAR HANDLE IN THE DOWN POSITION. THE PILOT ALSO CLAIMED THAT THE LANDING GEAR WARNING HORN DID NOT OPERATE. ^PRIVACY DA^ CLAIMED WHEN HE PLACED THE AIRCRAFT ON JACKS AND SET THE MASTER SWITCH TO ON THE LANDING GEAR WENT DOWN AND LOCKED WITH THREE GREEN DISPLAYED. ^PRIVACY DA^ PLACED AIRCRAFT ON JACKS FOR INSPECTORS FROM MIAMI FSDO TO OBSERVE RETRACTION CHECKS. AIRCRAFT LANDING GEAR WAS CYCLED UP AND DOWN SEVERAL TIMES. LANDING GEAR WENT TO DOWN AND LOCKED WITH GREEN LIGHTS NO DEFECTS NOTICED. WHEN THROTTLES WERE RETARDED WARNING HORN ALSO WORKED. WE REVIEWED MAINTENANCE RECORDS. ANNUAL INSPECTION WAS ACCOMPLISHED 15 FEB 2004. THE 100HR INSPECTION WAS ACCOMPLISHED 6 SEP 2004. NO MAINTENANCE ITEMS WERE FOUND THAT MIGHT HAVE LED TO INCIDENT. NO DISCREPANCIES WERE FOUND FOR LANDING GEAR CIRCUIT BREAKER PROBLEMS SINCE REPAIR IN DEC 2003. 02/11/05 ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^ THE PILOT OF N246HG CAME INTO MIAMI FSDO FOR INTERVIEW ABOUT INCIDENT. THE PILOT ^PRIVACY DAT^ CLAIMS HE WAS GIVING FLIGHT INSTRUCTION WHEN THIS INCIDENT OCCURRED. THE PILOT ^PRIVACY DAT^ ADMITS HE DID NOT VISUALLY VERIFY THAT HE HAD THREE GREEN ON FINAL OTHER THAN A VERBAL FROM THE STUDENT. THE PILOT ^PRIVACY DAT^ MENTIONS THAT AFTER IMPACT WITH GROUND THE LANDING GEAR MOTOR CIRCUIT BREAKER WAS POPPED AND GEAR HANDLE WAS DOWN. THE PILOT ^PRIVACY DAT^ STATES HE PUSHED IN CIRCUIT BREAKER AFTER LANDING AIRCRAFT. WHEN THE PILOT ^PRIVACY DAT^ WAS ASKED WHY ONLY THE LEFT PROPELLER AND NOT THE RIGHT PROPELLER WAS DAMAGED THE PILOT ^PRIVACY DAT^ CLAIMS THAT HE THINKS BECAUSE HE APPLIED MORE PRESSURE TO THROTTLE AND PROP GOVERNOR OF THE RIGHT PROP WHEN HE WENT TO IDLE/CUTOFF. THE PILOT ^PRIVACY DAT^ AGAIN CLAIMS THAT ON 8 FEB 05 A PILOT NAMED ^PRIVACY DA^ FLEW N246HG AND HE EXPERIENCED A LANDING GEAR MOTOR CIRCUIT BREAKER POPPING. 02/15/05. INTERVIEWED THE PILOT ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^ AND ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^ THE STUDENT THAT OPERATED N246HG. THE PILOT ^PRIVACY DAT^ STILL INSISTS THAT GEAR CIRCUIT BREAKER POPPED AND THIS IS WHY HE COULD NOT EXTEND LANDING GEAR. THE STUDENT PILOT ^PRIVACY ^ WAS INTERVIEWED IN SEPARATE ROOM. ^PRIVACY ^ GAVE THE SAME STATEMENT. THE PILOT ^PRIVACY DATA^ AGAIN CLAIMS THAT PILOT ^PRIVACY DA^ FLEW THE SAME AIRCRAFT THE DAY PRIOR AND EXPERIENCED THE SAME PROBLEM WITH LANDING GEAR. 02/16/05. INTERVIEWED ^PRIVACY DATA O^ AT MIAMI FSDO. ^PRIVACY D^ CLAIMS THAT HE DID FLY AIRCRAFT N246HG ONE DAY PRIOR TO THE PILOT ^PRIVACY DAT^ ON 8 FEB 05. ^PRIVACY D^ MENTIONS THAT HE WAS TRAINING A STUDENT WHEN THE LANDING GEAR MOTOR CIRCUIT BREAKER POPPED AFTER POSITIONING LANDING GEAR HANDLE DOWN. ^PRIVACY D^ CLAIMS HE WAS ABLE TO LAND AIRCRAFT WITHOUT INCIDENT BY RESETTING CIRCUIT BREAKER AND CYCLING GEAR HANDLE DOWN TO GET THE THREE GREEN LIGHTS. HOWEVER, ^PRIVACY DATA O^ STATES HE DID NOT REPORT THIS LANDING GEAR PROBLEM TO MAINTENANCE AND CONTINUED TO FLY THE AIRCRAFT ONCE MORE THAT DAY WITHOUT ANY INCIDENT. WE CALLED THE STUDENT ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^ AND HE CONFIRMS THE STATEMENTS FROM ^PRIVACY D^. THIS SAME DAY INSPECTORS VISITED WITH ^PRIVACY DAT^ AT TMB TO INVESTIGATE CLAIMS ABOUT CIRCUIT BREAKER PROBLEMS. AIRCRAFT N246HG WAS PLACED ON JACKS AND GEAR RETRACTIONS WERE CONDUCTED. DURING RETRACTION CHECKS IT WAS DISCOVERED WHILE GEAR WAS UP AND LOCKED THAT IF DOWNWARD PRESSURE WAS APPLIED TO NOSE LANDING GEAR (NLG) TIRE THE GEAR UNSAFE LIGHT WOULD COME ON IN COCKPIT AND GEAR MOTOR PUMP WOULD RUN. THE GEAR MOTOR PUMP WOULD RUN LONG ENOUGH TO CAUSE CIRCUIT BREAKER TO POP. IT APPEARS THAT THE UP LIMIT SWITCH IS FAULTY OR GEAR IS OUT OF ADJUSTMENT. THIS MAY HAVE BEEN CAUSING THE INTERMITTENT GEAR FAILURE. MAINTENANCE PERSONNEL WILL FURTHER INVESTIGATE. ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^ ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^ 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.