# Incident 20191223015399I: Piper PA-24-250, Houston, TX, December 23, 2019

- Type: FAA incident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: December 23, 2019, 17:15 local time
- Place: Houston, TX
- Airport: Pearland
- Damage: Minor damage
- Phase of flight: Takeoff: Rotation
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 29.5213° N, 95.2421° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs at PEARLAND RGNL (LVJ), within about a mile (OpenAirDocs)
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=29.5213&lon=-95.2421&mi=10
- Aircraft: N7210P, registered now (https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N7210P) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Piper PA-24-250 (registry code 7102404, https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa-24-250) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Lycoming 0-540 series (registry code 41532, https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-0-540-series) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: PIPER PA-24-250
- Reported engine: LYCOMING 0-540 SERIES
- People aboard: 1
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Other injuries: 0
- Pilot certificates: Commercial pilot
- Pilot flight hours: 5,000 total, 3,000 in this make and model, 119 in the last 90 days
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20191223015399I

## Narrative

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

PEARLAND REGIONAL AIRPORT KLVJ

ON THE EVENING OF DECEMBER 23RD 2019 AT APPROXIMATELY 5:00PM I, (ONLY SOUL ONBOARD) BEGAN A TAKEOFF RUN ON RUNWAY 32. I WAS JUST AT ROTATION SPEED WHEN I FELT I WAS RUNNING OVER SOME FOREIGN DEBRIS, OR POSSIBLY THE NOSE GEAR HAD FAILED AS I BECAME AIRBORNE. I JUDGED I WAS TOO FAST AND TOO FAR TO ABORT THE FLIGHT FEARING I WOULD RUN OFF THE END OF THE RUNWAY.

I CONTINUED TO CLIMB SUCCESSFULLY AND TURNED LEFT CROSSWIND IMMEDIATELY AND DOWNWIND TO RETURN TO 32.  I MADE RADIO CONTACT WITH THE LOCAL TRAFFIC OF MY INTENTION TO LAND AS SOON AS PRACTICAL. I HAD THEN RETRACTED THE LANDING GEAR TO CLIMB AT BEST RATE TO ABOUT 600' AGL. I WAS ASSURED BY LOCAL TRAFFIC THAT THE RUNWAY WAS MINE, AND THE FBO CREW CAME OUT TO REPORT ANY ANOMALIES WITH THE GEAR. THEY SAID THE GEAR LOOKED TO BE HALFWAY DOWN. I TRIED CYCLING THE GEAR BUT COULD NOT GET A GREEN OR AMBER LIGHT TO INDICATE THE POSITION. I CONSIDERED MANUALLY OVERRIDING THE EMERGENCY SYSTEM BUT WAS CONCERNED IF I WOULD BE LANDING WITH ONLY A NOSE GEAR OR MAINS ONLY.

I MADE THE DECISION TO BELLY LAND IN THE CONFIGURATION AS REPORTED. IT WAS AN UNEVENTFUL TOUCHDOWN, AND AS SOON AS IT CAME TO A STOP, I TURNED THE FUEL SELECTOR TO THE OFF POSITION, AND WITHOUT ANY SMELL OF FUEL IN THE COCKPIT, I SWITCHED OFF ALL ELECTRICAL AND EXITED THE PLANE.

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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