20070605012079I

Incident · Minor damage

FAA incident report · Piper PA-24 · Ocracoke, NC · June 5, 2007

Date: June 5, 2007 · 17:45 local
Place: Ocracoke, NC
Airport: Ocracoke Island
Phase of flight: Level Off Touchdown
Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
Damage: Minor damage
Aircraft: N8167P
Reported as: Piper PA24
Reported engine: Lycoming O360*
People aboard: 3
Fatal injuries: 0
Pilot’s flight hours: 0 total200 in this make and model25 in the last 90 days

N8167PRegistered now · Piper PA-24S/N 24-3423 · Built 1963 Airframe modelPiper PA-24 Engine modelLycoming O&VO-360 seriesReciprocating

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.

(-23) Airman was approaching to land at Ocracoke airport in Ocracoke, NE. On approach, the pilot selected gear down and failed to get a gear down indication. After multiple low passes to allow park rangers on the scene to determine if gear was in fact down, a determination was made that the gear would not extend. The airman then climbed to approximately 2500' and shut the engine down and glided to the airport with the gear up for an otherwise uneventful landing. Investigation revealed nose gear centering mechanism had failed and the nose wheel had become lodged in the wheel well. Aircraft suffered only scrapes on the belly and lost two comm/nav antennas.

As the FAA filed it

(-23) AIRMAN WAS APPROACHING TO LAND AT OCRACOKE AIRPORT IN OCRACOKE, NE. ON APPROACH, THE PILOT SELECTED GEAR DOWN AND FAILED TO GET A GEAR DOWN INDICATION. AFTER MULTIPLE LOW PASSES TO ALLOW PARK RANGERS ON THE SCENE TO DETERMINE IF GEAR WAS IN FACT DOWN, A DETERMINATION WAS MADE THAT THE GEAR WOULD NOT EXTEND. THE AIRMAN THEN CLIMBED TO APPROXIMATELY 2500' AND SHUT THE ENGINE DOWN AND GLIDED TO THE AIRPORT WITH THE GEAR UP FOR AN OTHERWISE UNEVENTFUL LANDING. INVESTIGATION REVEALED NOSE GEAR CENTERING MECHANISM HAD FAILED AND THE NOSE WHEEL HAD BECOME LODGED IN THE WHEEL WELL. AIRCRAFT SUFFERED ONLY SCRAPES ON THE BELLY AND LOST TWO COMM/NAV ANTENNAS.