20120202001059I

On 02/02/2012 at 0755 EST a BE-99 (N53RP) operated by ameriflight LLC (jika) landed on runway 06 at elm. The pilot stated the following, "just before I put the engines into reverse my knee bumped the landing gear lever hard enough to move it to the up position. I immediately put the gear lever back into the down position but the gear had already started coming up. The left gear came up first and I tried to maintain centerline while moving the condition levers to cutoff and pulling the firewall shutoff valves to off on both engines". With all three gear up the aircraft skidded on the centerline cargo pod to a stop. Contract maintenance was dispatched to the aircraft. As they lifted the aircraft the gear extended. The aircraft was towed to a hangar. Damage was limited to the centerline pod as well as both #1 and #2 engine propellers. Jika maintenance traveled from buf to elm to inspect the aircraft. Records indicate that the aircraft had an "event ii & routine inspection" completed on 02/01/2012 at buf. Part of that check was a "landing gear retraction test". On 02/06/2012 jika maintenance jacked the aircraft and tried to recreate the actions of the pilot. They attempted to move the gear lever up with their knee but could not. They stated that all landing gear functions were normal. Jika's buf maintenance station manager stated that on the way back to buf from elm the pilot stated that the air traffic controller at elm confirmed his gear was down on approach. I called the elm tower and talked with the controller. He stated that he looked at the aircraft through binoculars and the landing gear "appeared down". He also stated he watched the aircraft "rollout" approximately 100 feet on landing before the gear came up and sparks could be seen coming from the underside of the aircraft. I asked the controller for an email with his statement. He stated that he would send it the next day. The following day I was informed that due to their union the controller would not give a statement. I did receive the following email from the elm tower manager:"on February 2 at 7:42 I received a phone call from the controller in charge in the tower telling me that the gear on AMF5123 had collapsed after he landed runway 06. He then went on to say that the local controller had observed the aircraft land and during the landing rollout the gear had collapsed and that it was still on runway 06 and the runway was closed. When I arrived at work I could see the aircraft had stopped short of the turn for taxiway c, about 3,000 feet from the approach end of runway 06. Later we listened to the recording of the local controller when the incident occurred and a recording of the phone call between the pilot and local controller. I also talked with the controller who was working the local position at the time of the incident. The controller told me that after he had issued landing clearance and when AMF5123 was on short final he picked up the binoculars to check for gear down. He said the gear appeared to be down. He said the landing was normal and he continued to watch the aircraft during the landing rollout. After the aircraft passed through the intersection of runway 10/28 and runway 06 he started noticing sparks coming from underneath the aircraft. He tried to contact the pilot. He tried again as the aircraft came to a stop. He did not get a reply and toned out the emergency equipment. During the phone conversation with the pilot he told the pilot that he saw the gear down while the aircraft was on short final and after landing when the aircraft was east of the runway 10/28 and 6 intersection he noticed the sparks." At the request of jika's poi further checks on the aircraft were going to be accomplished on 02/10/2012. I was informed on 02/14/2012 that maintenence tried several different ways to get the aircraft landing gear to fail. The gear, and gear handle safety hook never failed. This incident is closed.