20110108001249I

Incident · Minor damage

FAA incident report · Watson Mich Velocity EL · Sebring, FL · January 8, 2011

Date: January 8, 2011 · 11:30 local
Place: Sebring, FL
Airport: Sebring Regional Airport
Phase of flight: Landing: Touchdown
Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
Damage: Minor damage
Aircraft: N104MW
Reported as: Watson Mich Velocity EL
Reported engine: Franklin 6A-350SER
People aboard: 2
Fatal injuries: 0
Other injuries: 0
Pilot’s certificate: Private pilot
Pilot’s flight hours: 534 total302 in this make and model7 in the last 90 days

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.

Aircraft had a gears up landing. Minor damage to the aircraft. Investigation revealed that the probable cause was a faulty air speed switch that prevents power going to the landing gear pump motor. The air switch is set at 80 knots to prevent accidental retract of the gear until this speed is achieved. A faulty switch would allow the gear to retract at any speed below 80 knots if the gear select switch was positioned incorrectly or if the pilot accidently tried to activate the speed brake and moved the gear switch into the gear retract by mistake.

As the FAA filed it

AIRCRAFT HAD A GEARS UP LANDING. MINOR DAMAGE TO THE AIRCRAFT. INVESTIGATION REVEALED THAT THE PROBABLE CAUSE WAS A FAULTY AIR SPEED SWITCH THAT PREVENTS POWER GOING TO THE LANDING GEAR PUMP MOTOR. THE AIR SWITCH IS SET AT 80 KNOTS TO PREVENT ACCIDENTAL RETRACT OF THE GEAR UNTIL THIS SPEED IS ACHIEVED. A FAULTY SWITCH WOULD ALLOW THE GEAR TO RETRACT AT ANY SPEED BELOW 80 KNOTS IF THE GEAR SELECT SWITCH WAS POSITIONED INCORRECTLY OR IF THE PILOT ACCIDENTLY TRIED TO ACTIVATE THE SPEED BRAKE AND MOVED THE GEAR SWITCH INTO THE GEAR RETRACT BY MISTAKE.