20081201856909I

ON DEC. 1, 2008, AN INITIAL INVESTIGATION OF AN AIRCRAFT WHICH WAS DISABLED ON RUNWAY 26 AFTER LANDING AT FT. LAUDERDALE EXECUTIVE AIRPORT AT APPROXIMATELY 1527 LOCAL TIME THAT DAY WAS CONDUCTED. UPON ARRIVAL AT THE SCENE, ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^, AN AIRWORTHINESS ASI AND I OBSERVED THE AIRCRAFT TO BE A PIPER NAVAJO, BAHAMAS REGISTRATION #C6-JBB RESTING ON ITS BELLY. A SALVAGE CREW WAS WORKING TO LIFT THE AIRCRAFT IN AN ATTEMPT TO LOWER ITS RETRACTED LANDING GEAR AND TOW IT OFF THE RUNWAY. BOTH ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^ AND I ENTERED THE AIRCRAFT, AND FROM A POSITION IN THE CABIN AT THE ENTRANCE TO THE COCKPIT, NOTED THE LANDING GEAR HANDLE TO BE IN THE DOWN POSITION. AFTER WALKING THE RUNWAY BACK TOWARDS THE THRESHOLD OF RWY 26, I MADE THE FOLLOWING DETERMINATIONS BASED ON EVIDENCE OBSERVED. THE INITIAL POINT AT WHICH THE AIRCRAFT FIRST CONTACTED THE GROUND WAS A POINT APPROXIMATELY FIVE FEET RIGHT OF THE RUNWAY CENTERLINE, AND ABOUT 1,700 FEET FROM THE THRESHOLD OF RWY 26. THIS WAS THE FIRST LOCATION OF SEVERAL DEEP GOUGES IN THE SURFACE OF THE ASPHALT, FOLLOWED BY SCARS OF LESSER DEPTH ON THE LEFT SIDE OF THE CENTER, WHICH CONTINUED FOR ABOUT 1,500 FEET. THE LEFT PROPELLER FIRST MADE CONTACT WITH THE RUNWAY SURFACE ABOUT THIRTY FEET BEYOND THE FIRST SCAR FROM THE RIGHT PROPELLER, AND CONTINUED TO SCAR THE SURFACE FOR ABOUT THE SAME DISTANCE AS THE RIGHT. EVIDENCE OF AIRCRAFT BELLY SKIN CONTACT WAS FIRST OBSERVED ABOUT 2,200 FEET FROM THE THRESHOLD IN THE FORM OF PAINT RESIDUE ON THE RUNWAY SURFACE. THE AIRCRAFT CAME TO REST APPROXIMATELY 2,700 FEET FROM THE THRESHOLD ON CENTERLINE ON A MAGNETIC HEADING OF ABOUT 270 DEGREES. ALL DISTANCES WERE ESTIMATED BASED ON THE POSITION OF RUNWAY REMAINING MARKER SIGNS ON THE NORTH SIDE OF RWY 26. PHOTOGRAPHIC EVIDENCE (ATTACHED) SHOWS BOTH PROPELLERS BADLY CURLED FROM THE TIPS TO ABOUT MID-POINT OF THE BLADE LENGTH. THE DEPTH OF SCARS IN THE RUNWAY SURFACE OF ABOUT 1.5” AND THE SEVERE CURLING AND BENDING OF THE PROP BLADES INDICATE BOTH ENGINES WERE DEVELOPING GREATER THAN IDLE POWER AT THE TIME OF FIRST IMPACT. ONCE THE AIRCRAFT WAS HOISTED BY THE RECOVERY CREW THE PILOT-IN-COMMAND (PIC) RE-ENTERED THE AIRCRAFT, TURNED ON THE AIRCRAFT’S MASTER SWITCH, AND USING THE MANUAL HAND PUMP LOWERED THE LANDING GEAR. ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^ AND I OBSERVED ALL THREE LANDING GEAR EXTEND INTO THE DOWN AND LOCKED POSITION. THE PIC SHOUTED FROM THE COCKPIT THAT HE OBSERVED “THREE GREEN LIGHTS” INDICATING THAT THE GEAR WAS FULLY EXTENDED. AT THIS TIME, WE INSPECTED THE CONDITION OF THE LANDING GEAR DOORS, WHICH WERE IN EXCELLENT CONDITION. THERE WAS NO EVIDENCE OF ANY DAMAGE TO ANY OF THE EDGES OF THE GEAR DOORS. THE ONLY DAMAGE OBSERVED WAS SCRATCH MARKS AND REMOVAL OF SOME PAINT ON THE OUTER FLAT SURFACES OF THE GEAR DOORS. THE PILOT-IN-COMMAND OF THE AIRCRAFT WAS ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^, A CITIZEN OF CANADA, WHOSE ADDRESS IS LISTED AS ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^. HE POSSESSED A COMMONWEALTH OF THE BAHAMAS PRIVATE PILOT CERTIFICATE, ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^. ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^ MENTIONED HE ALSO HELD A US PILOT’S CERTIFICATE. RESEARCH INDICATES ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^ HOLDS US PRIVATE PILOT CERTIFICATE, ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^ ISSUED 5/7/2003 WITH SINGLE AND MULTIENGINE LAND PRIVILEGES. ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^ PRODUCED A PILOTS LOGBOOK SHOWING 17,254 HOURS OF TOTAL FLYING TIME PRIOR TO THE INCIDENT FLIGHT, AND STATED HE HAD ABOUT 7,200 HOURS IN MAKE AND MODEL. HE STATED HE HAD LOGGED 45 HOURS IN THE PREVIOUS 90 DAYS AND HIS LAST BIANNUAL FLIGHT REVIEW WAS ON JANUARY 22, 2008. ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^ VERBALLY STATED TO BOTH ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^ AND I THAT HE RECALLED PUTTING THE GEAR DOWN PRIOR TO LANDING. TOWER THEN ASKED HIM TO EXECUTE A 360 DEGREE TURN FOR SPACING ON AN AIRCRAFT AHEAD OF HIM, AND UPON ROLLING OUT ON FINAL, NOTED THREE GREEN LANDING GEAR LIGHTS WERE NOT ILLUMINATED, BUT THAT HE ELECTED TO CONTINUE TO A LANDING. IN THE FLARE ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^ FELT THE AIRCRAFT SETTLE FURTHER THAN USUAL, AND THEN HEARD THE SOUND OF THE PROPELLERS CONTACTING THE RUNWAY. NEITHER PASSENGER INTERVIEWED AT THE SCENE KNEW IF THE LANDING GEAR WAS LOWERED PRIOR TO TOUCHDOWN, BUT BOTH STATED ALL SEEMED NORMAL UNTIL THEY HEARD THE SOUND OF THE PROPELLERS STRIKING THE RUNWAY. AN EXAMINATION OF THE RECORDING OF TRANSMISSIONS TO AND FROM FXE TOWER REVEALED THAT THE INCIDENT AIRCRAFT WAS INSTRUCTED WHILE ON FINAL APPROACH TO EXECUTE A RIGHT 360 DEGREE TURN TO INCREASE THE SPACING BETWEEN THE INCIDENT AIRCRAFT AND A SLOWER SINGLE-ENGINE AIRCRAFT IN FRONT OF IT. ALSO, CONTACT WAS MADE WITH THE PILOT OF N704HB, A CESSNA 150 OCCUPIED BY A STUDENT PILOT AND A CFI, ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^, WHO WAS THE SECOND AIRCRAFT HOLDING SHORT OF RWY 26 AWAITING TAKEOFF CLEARANCE. IN AN E-MAILED STATEMENT, ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^ REPORTS SEEING THE INCIDENT AIRCRAFT ROLLING OUT ON FINAL AFTER THE 360 DEGREE TURN, AND WATCHING THE AIRCRAFT APPROACH THE RUNWAY. AT A POINT ABOUT ¼ MILE FROM THE THRESHOLD, BY HIS ESTIMATION, HE NOTED THAT THE AIRCRAFT’S LANDING GEAR WAS RETRACTED, AND THOUGHT THE AIRCRAFT WAS EXECUTING A GO-AROUND. HE SHIFTED HIS FOCUS AT THAT TIME TO HIS STUDENT, AND LATER NOTED THE INCIDENT AIRCRAFT HAD COME TO A STOP ON THE RUNWAY. THE LAST TRANSMISSION FROM THE INCIDENT AIRCRAFT TO FXE TOWER PRIOR TO TOUCHDOWN WAS AN ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF THE LANDING CLEARANCE. THE SUBSEQUENT AND FINAL TRANSMISSION FROM THE AIRCRAFT TO THE TOWER WAS MADE AFTER LANDING. THE PIC STATED THAT HE AND HIS PASSENGERS WERE EXITING THE AIRCRAFT AND ALL WERE OK. THE SOUND OF A HORN IN THE BACKGROUND OF THE PILOT’S TRANSMISSION COULD BE HEARD CLEARLY ON THAT RECORDING.