20120524010689I

On may 24, 2012, at approximately 1145 local time (1645 UTC), a private pilot was involved in an aircraft incident that occurred during the landing roll-out at the Fort Scott municipal airport (kfsk), Fort Scott, Kansas. The aircraft involved in this incident is a Cessna P-210-N, which is owned and operated by the pilot-in-command; the passenger on board this aircraft is the holder of an airline transport pilot certificate; however, this individual was not designated as the pilot-in-command. Visual meteorological conditions (VMC) existed at the time of the incident; pittsburg atkinson municipal airport (kpts) automated weather observation system (AWOS), located 21 nautical miles due south of kfsk, reported the surface winds at 210 degrees at 14 knots, gusting to 20 knots. According to the airman's verbal and written statement, prior to departure, an exterior pre-flight inspection of the aircraft was conducted. A pre-flight of the aircraft's landing gear system was also performed per the pilot's operating handbook (POH), including the associated lights and aural warning horn; no anomalies were noted. After takeoff, the pilot stated that normal gear retraction was performed. Due to the surface winds and relative aircraft position to the landing runway, a straight-in approach to runway 18 was conducted. Upon being established on a three (3) nautical mile final approach to runway 18, the airman stated that the landing gear was extended; the extension of the main gear was visually confirmed by the pilot-in-command and passenger, in addition to the illumination of the, "green," gear light. The airman stated that the landing gear aural warning system was not audible, nor was a, "red," unsafe gear indication observed. A short field approach and landing was planned, and as per the POH, full flaps were selected. According to the airman, immediately upon touchdown, as stated in the POH, the flaps were retracted to provide greater aerodynamic braking and a reduction in the total landing distance roll-out; airman verbally stated that this is a standard procedure for landing. As the aircraft decelerated, the airman stated that the nose continued to lower until such time as the prop struck the runway surface. A post-incident inspection by the passenger, as provided in a written statement, indicated that upon re-entry into the cabin, it was visually observed that the flap handle was still in the full-down position with the wing flaps extended, and the landing gear handle was in the up or retracted position. The airman, in subsequent communication, stated that it was apparent that the landing gear handle was inadvertently raised during the landing roll-out in lieu of the flap handle. According to the airman, the aircraft is conventionally configured with the landing gear handle on the left side of the power quadrant, and the flap handle is positioned on the right. Additionally, the repositioning of the landing gear handle requires the airman to pull the handle out of a detent before it can be raised or lowered. A post-incident inspection of the landing gear system was performed by a certified aircraft mechanic. This inspection, as stated in the mechanic's written statement, documented that it appeared as though the nose wheel was not down and locked upon touchdown (did not collapse); normal nose gear extension was observed upon the opening of the nose gear doors that were damaged upon contact with the runway surface. The aircraft sustained minor damage upon touchdown; both the pilot-in-command and passenger were uninjured.