# Incident 20091227857249I: Mahar Micha IVP, East Hampton, NY, December 27, 2009

- Type: FAA incident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: December 27, 2009, 15:55 local time
- Place: East Hampton, NY
- Airport: East Hampton
- Damage: Minor damage
- Phase of flight: Landing: Touchdown
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 40.9515° N, 72.1961° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs: center of East Hampton, NY, within about 6 miles (OpenAirDocs)
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=40.9515&lon=-72.1961&mi=10
- Aircraft: N166JC (not matched to a registry record)
- Reported make and model: MAHAR MICHA IVP
- Reported engine: CONT MOTOR TSIO-550 SER
- People aboard: 1
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Other injuries: 0
- Pilot certificates: Private pilot
- Pilot flight hours: 1,000 total, 700 in this make and model, 0 in the last 90 days
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20091227857249I

## Narrative

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

ON DECEMBER 27, 2009, THIS OFFICE INVESTIGATED AN UNINTENTIONAL GEAR UP LANDING AT HTO AIRPORT, THAT OCCURRED THE DAY PRIOR AT APPROXIMATELY 1430 LOCAL TIME.  THE PILOT WAS JOHN FRANKLIN COWELL, HOLDER OF PILOT CERTIFICATE 150364352. HE WAS PILOTING AN EXPERIMENTAL LANCAIR 4P N166JC.  HE WAS FLYING IN THE AREA FOR PLEASURE, AND WAS NAVIGATING TO THE RUNWAY IN VMC USING THE GPS/RNAV GUIDANCE.  AT THE FINAL APPROACH FIX, HE FOUND HIMSELF TOO FAST TO LOWER THE GEAR, SO HE EXTENDED THE SPEED BRAKES AND THE APPROACH FLAPS.  HE SAID HE NOTED THAT HE WAS RUNNING ABOUT TWO INCHES LESS OF MANIFOLD PRESSURE ON THE FINAL APPROACH, BUT THOUGHT NOTHING FURTHER OF IT.  AS HE WAS IN THE FLARE, HE SAID HE HEARD THE PROP "TICKING" AS IT BEGAN TO STRIKE THE RUNWAY.  HE THEN STATED THAT THE AIRCRAFT TOUCHED DOWN, AND "A SECOND LATER AND I WAS STOPPED."  THE PILOT STATED HE THOUGHT THE MAX FLAP SPEED WAS 160 (ACTUAL 174), BUT USES 140 TO REDUCE WEAR AND STRAIN ON THE SYSTEM.  HE ALSO LIMITS HIS GEAR EXTENSION SPEED TO 120, AS THE RETRACTABLE STEP WILL NOT FULLY EXTEND AT HIGHER AIRSPEEDS.  THE POH LISTS THE MAXIMUM GEAR EXTENSION SPEED AT 150.  MR. COWELL WAS VERY FORTHCOMING IN HIS ERROR AND THE INFORMATION PROVIDED TO THIS OFFICE.  HE HAD EMAILED THIS OFFICE WITH A DETAILED ACCOUNT OF THE INCIDENT, AND WHEN ASKED TO SIGN IT, HE ACCEPTED.  THE AIRCRAFT WAS MILDLY DAMAGED.  THE PROPELLER BLADES WERE BENT AND SCRAPED, BUT LACKED COMPOUND DAMAGE.  THE RESIN COAT OF THE BELLY WAS GROUND TO THE MATTING AND HONEYCOMB IN SEVERAL PLACES, AND ALL ANTENNAS WERE EITHER HIGHLY DAMAGED OR DESTROYED.  THERE WAS ADDITIONAL DAMAGE TO THE PILOT TUBE ON THE LEFT WING, THE FUEL DRAIN ON THE RIGHT WING, AND THE INSIDE PORTIONS OF THE FLAPS.  IT APPEARED THAT THE TOUCHDOWN WAS SOFT, AND IN A WINGS LEVEL POSITION.  HE LANDED ON RUNWAY 28, AND AT 1855Z, THE WINDS WERE 270 AT 15.  ACCORDING TO MR. COWELL, THE WINDS WERE REPORTED AS 270 AT 10 AT THE TIME OF THE INCIDENT.  INSPECTION OF THE RUNWAY REVELED THAT PROPELLER BEGAN STRIKING THE RUNWAY APPROXIMATELY 900 FEET PAST THE THRESHOLD, AND THE AIRCRAFT CAME TO REST APPROXIMATELY 1300 FEET LATER.  THROUGHOUT THIS EVENT, THE CENTER OF THE AIRCRAFT APPEARS TO HAVE BEEN WITHIN THREE FEET OF THE RUNWAY CENTERLINE AT ALL TIMES.  A CHECK OF THE RECORDS FOR MR. COWELL REVELED NO ABNORMALITIES, AND A CHECK OF THE RECORDS FOR N166JC REVELED NO ABNORMALITIES.  A CHECK OF THE WEIGHT AND BALANCE INDICATES THE CG WOULD HAVE BEEN BETWEEN 89.1 AND 90.0 INCHES, DEPENDING ON THE FUEL LOADING.  THESE VALUES ARE WELL WITHIN THE LIMITS FOR 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.

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