ATL04CA192

NTSB accident investigation · Piper PA-44-180 · Miami, FL · September 10, 2004

Accident · No injuriesData collectionFinal report
Date
September 10, 2004, 17:30 local (21:30 UTC)
Place
Miami, FL
Injuries
3 uninjured
Damage
Substantial damage
Phase of flight
Landing
Aircraft
N268DAPiper PA-44-180
Weather
Visual (VMC) · Day
Status
Completed · report December 3, 2004
Report
Approved by Office Director
Parties
MIA FSDO
FAA report
20040910023189A
Case key
60242

From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.

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Probable cause

The pilot's failure to follow the after landing check list, which resulted in his inadvertent gear retraction during landing roll.

Sequence of events

NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.

Gear collapsedLanding - roll
Gear retraction - inadvertentPilot in commandCause
Checklist - not followedPilot in commandCause

Analysis

According to the pilot, when he lowered the landing gear during his approach he verified that he had three green lights and the nose gear was visible in the mirror, and the red gear unsafe warning light was off. When he turned onto final approach and lined up with the runway he again checked and found that he had three green lights and verified the nose gear was visible in the mirror. He said he touched down on runway 9R and began the rollout. After about five seconds, he applied brakes to make the first turn off. Immediately after applying the brakes he said the landing gear collapsed. The airplane slid down the runway veered to the right and came to a stop just off the side of the runway, damaging the right outboard wing, the under carriage and propeller. Examination of the airplane found the flaps extended about 10 degrees and the gear handle not fully down in its detent. The airplane was moved to a maintenance facility on the airport and the gear was actuated seven times. Each time the landing gear functioned normally, there was no damage noted to the gear locks or the squat switch.

Factual narrative

On September 10, 2004 at 1730 eastern daylight time, a Piper PA-44-180, N268DA, registered to Jack and Robert Arrow LLC., and operated by the commercial pilot, collapsed the nose and right main landing gear during roll out at the Kendall-Tamiami Airport in Miami, Florida. The personal flight was operated under the provisions of Title 14 CFR Part 91 and visual flight rules. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed. The pilot and two passengers were not injured and the airplane sustained substantial damage. The flight originated at Opa Locka, Florida, on September 10, 2004, at 1715.

According to the pilot, when he lowered the landing gear during his approach he verified that he had three green lights and the nose gear was visible in the mirror, and the red gear unsafe warning light was off. When he turned onto final approach and lined up with the runway he again checked and found that he had three green lights and verified the nose gear was visible in the mirror. He said he touched down on runway 9R and began the rollout. After about five seconds, he applied brakes to make the first turn off. Immediately after applying the brakes, he said the landing gear collapsed. The airplane slid down the runway veered to the right and came to a stop just off the side of the runway, damaging the right outboard wing, the under carriage and propeller.

Examination of the airplane found the flaps extended about 10 degrees and the gear handle not fully down in its detent. The airplane was moved to a maintenance facility on the airport and the gear was actuated seven times. The gear order of operation was first left main down and locked, second right main down and locked, then the nose gear down to 3/4 travel at which time the right main will unlock and brake over center and both nose and main will then lock. Each time the landing gear functioned normally, there was no damage noted to the gear locks or the squat switch.

Aircraft

Registration
N268DA
Reported as
Piper PA-44-180
Category
Airplane
Serial number
4496135
Airframe hours
1,249
Engines
Lycoming LO360-A1H6, 180 horsepower, reciprocatingLycoming O360-A1H6, 180 horsepower, reciprocating
Damage
Substantial damage
Flight
Personal · Part 91
Operator
Robert S. Morrell
Registered owner
Jack and Robert Arrow LLC
Airworthiness certificate
Standard, Normal
Departed
OPF · Opa Locka, FL
Destination
TMB · Miami, FL
Airport
TMB · Kendall Tamiami, runway 9R, 4,999 × 150 ft, asphalt

Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.

Flight crew

As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.

Role
Pilot
Age
27
Injuries
None
Certificate
Commercial
Airplane ratings
Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
Instrument ratings
Airplane
Medical
Class 2, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
Last flight review
July 23, 2004
Seat
Left
Flight hours
1,862 total · 60 in this make and model · 1,716 as pilot in command · 122 in the last 90 days · 65 in the last 30 days · 4 in the last 24 hours

Weather

Conditions
Visual (VMC) · Day
Wind
50° at 11 knots
Visibility
10 statute miles
Temperature
81 °F, dew point 72 °F
Altimeter
29.95 inHg
Observed at
TMB

FAA reports on this event · 1

The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.