20130930018829I

Incident · Minor damage

FAA incident report · Piper PA-44-180 · Crystal, MN · September 30, 2013

Date: September 30, 2013 · 15:49 local
Place: Crystal, MN
Airport: Crystal
Phase of flight: Landing: Rollout
Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
Damage: Minor damage
Aircraft: N21318
Reported as: Piper PA-44-180
Reported engine: Lycoming O&VO-360 series
People aboard: 2
Fatal injuries: 0
Other injuries: 0
Pilot’s certificate: Flight instructor
Pilot’s flight hours: 1,350 total300 in this make and model155 in the last 90 days

N21318Registered now · Piper PA-44-180S/N 44-7995046 · Built 1978 Airframe modelPiper PA-44-180 Engine modelLycoming O&VO-360 seriesReciprocating

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.

On the third landing of an instructional flight, the nose gear collapsed on landing rollout. According to instructor and pilot statements, the nose gear indicator had remained illuminated and the nose gear appeared to have retracted according to visual in the nose gear mirror after the gear retraction following the second landing and takeoff. After extension of the gear for the third landing, the three green landing gear indicators were illuminated and the nose gear appeared extended according to the nose gear mirror visual. The gear unsafe light was not illuminated.

As the FAA filed it

ON THE THIRD LANDING OF AN INSTRUCTIONAL FLIGHT, THE NOSE GEAR COLLAPSED ON LANDING ROLLOUT. ACCORDING TO INSTRUCTOR AND PILOT STATEMENTS, THE NOSE GEAR INDICATOR HAD REMAINED ILLUMINATED AND THE NOSE GEAR APPEARED TO HAVE RETRACTED ACCORDING TO VISUAL IN THE NOSE GEAR MIRROR AFTER THE GEAR RETRACTION FOLLOWING THE SECOND LANDING AND TAKEOFF. AFTER EXTENSION OF THE GEAR FOR THE THIRD LANDING, THE THREE GREEN LANDING GEAR INDICATORS WERE ILLUMINATED AND THE NOSE GEAR APPEARED EXTENDED ACCORDING TO THE NOSE GEAR MIRROR VISUAL. THE GEAR UNSAFE LIGHT WAS NOT ILLUMINATED.