- Date
- March 17, 2014, 11:00 local (18:00 UTC)
- Place
- Glendale, AZ
- Injuries
- 4 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Taxi
- Aircraft
- N53503Grumman TMB-3E
- Defining event
- Taxi-from runway: Landing gear collapse
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report May 21, 2014
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Western Pacific Region
- Parties
- FAA
- FAA report
- 20140317002759A
- Case key
- 88948
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Probable cause
The pilot inadvertently raised the landing gear lever rather than the adjacent flap level while exiting the runway which resulted in the retraction of the left main landing gear.
Findings · 3
NTSB’s coded findings. Those marked are part of the probable cause; the rest are factors or other findings. Under each, the cases with the same finding.
Sequence of events
The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event is the one that best describes the accident. Under each, the cases with the same event anywhere in their sequence.
Analysis
The pilot reported that after landing and during the turn onto a taxiway intersection, he inadvertently raised the landing gear lever by mistake, rather than the adjacent flap lever. The left landing gear collapsed, which caused the left wing tip to strike the ground. The impact resulted in substantial damage to the left wing. The pilot stated that the accident could have been prevented had he waited until he was clear of the runway, stopped, and identified the flap switch. The pilot reported no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.
Factual narrative
The pilot reported that after landing and during the turn onto a taxiway intersection, he inadvertently raised the landing gear lever by mistake, rather than the adjacent flap lever. The left landing gear collapsed, which caused the left wing tip to strike the ground. The impact resulted in substantial damage to the left wing. The pilot stated that the accident could have been prevented had he waited until he was clear of the runway, stopped, and identified the flap switch. The pilot reported no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N53503
- Reported as
- Grumman TMB-3E
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 53503
- Built
- 1948
- Airframe hours
- 4,792
- Engine
- Wright R2600-20, 1,900 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Positioning · Part 91
- Operator
- American Airpower Heritage Flying Museum
- Registered owner
- American Airpower Heritage Flying Museum
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Limited (Special)
- Last inspection
- AAIP · March 8, 2014 · 3.5 hours before
- Departed
- LUF · Glendale, AZ
- Destination
- GEU · Glendale, AZ
- Airport
- GEU · Glendale Municpal, runway 01, 7,150 × 100 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
- 64
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Without waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- January 17, 2014
- Seat
- Front
- Restraint
- 4-point
- Flight hours
- 4,377 total · 248 in this make and model
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Calm
- Visibility
- 76 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 66 °F, dew point 27 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.95 inHg
- Observed at
- LUF, 3 nm away
Docket · 2
The files NTSB released with the investigation on May 16, 2014, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 3.0 MB in all.
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.