N5345S
New Piper Aircraft, Inc. PA-46-350P
The pilot stated that, during landing flare, the airplane touched down on the landing gear then rose back up in the air briefly. The pilot stated he held the airplane in ground effect, and when it settled back toward the runway, the gear folded up as they touched the ground. Witnesses reported the gear was extended at touchdown. Examination revealed the left and right nose gear doors were attached to the airframe along the full length of their respective hinges. The right nose gear door displayed no scraping or damage. The left nose gear door displayed scrape marks on the vent fins, as well as one localized scrape mark on the inboard edge of the door. The localized scrape mark corresponded with the location of the nosewheel tire when in retracted position behind the door. There was no damage observed on the nose gear assembly. Examination of the right main landing gear revealed no damage to the gear door or the wheel hub cap. The radar pod beneath the airplane's right wing displayed scrape damage. Examination of the left main landing gear revealed no damage to the gear door, and the wheel hub cap was scraped around its entire center circumference. Functional testing of the landing gear system revealed no evidence of malfunction.
HISTORY OF FLIGHT On December 15, 2003, at 1654 eastern standard time, a New Piper Aircraft, Inc., PA-46-350P, N5345S, registered to and operated by DePizzo Enterprises, Inc., landed wheels-up at Cyril E. King Airport, St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands. The personal flight was operated under the provisions of Title 14 CFR Part 91 with no flight plan filed. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed. The private pilot and two passengers were not injured, and the airplane sustained minor damage. The local flight departed St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands, about 1645 on December 15, 2003. The pilot stated the local flight was returning to the island for landing on runway 10. He stated that, during landing flare, the airplane touched down on the main landing gear then rose back up in the air briefly. The pilot stated he held the airplane in ground effect, and when it settled back toward the runway, it kept going down until the belly and propeller struck the runway. The pilot stated, "the gear actually folded up as they touched the ground," and, "we definitely had the gear down." The propeller stopped abruptly, and the airplane slid along the runway and came to a stop. According to air traffic control records, the airplane came to rest near the 2,000-foot marker of runway 10. The passenger in the right front seat stated he saw the pilot perform the pre-landing checklist items, and he stated he remembered "specifically the landing gear check and observed the three green lights" as pointed out to him by the pilot. The other passenger reported feeling the airplane land smoothly with the gear down, then "before I knew it, we [were] screeching along the runway." A ground witness reported he observed the airplane on approach with the "main and nose landing gear ... fully down," and he observed the airplane perform "what appeared to be a normal in every aspect landing and 'floated' above the runway before settling back to the runway. This time, however, the landing gear folded from under the aircraft in to a stowed position." The pilot and passengers evacuated the airplane, and emergency response personnel found the airplane on the runway resting on the underside of the fuselage with damage to the flaps, underside of the fuselage, and all three propeller blades. WRECKAGE AND IMPACT INFORMATION To recover the airplane from the runway, a mechanic loosened hydraulic lines to relieve hydraulic pressure to the landing gear system, jacked up the airplane, and lowered its landing gear. The airplane was towed and secured for examination. Examination of the wires attached to the landing gear selector behind the instrument panel displayed no evidence of arcing. The left and right nose gear doors were attached to the airframe along the full length of their respective hinges. The right nose gear door displayed no scraping or damage. The left nose gear door displayed scrape marks on the vent fins, as well as one localized scrape mark on the inboard edge of the door. The localized scrape mark corresponded with the location of the nosewheel tire when in the retracted position behind the door. There was no damage observed on the nose gear assembly. Examination of the right main landing gear revealed no damage to the gear door or the wheel hub cap. The radar pod beneath the airplane's right wing displayed heavy scrape damage. Examination of the left main landing gear revealed no deformation damage to the gear door, and the wheel hub cap displayed scrape damage around its entire center circumference. The landing gear was secured in the down position by maintenance personnel, and the airplane received a serviceable propeller and other preparations for a ferry flight to Rock Hill, South Carolina, for further examination of the landing gear system. Testing of the landing gear system was performed by placing the airplane on jacks with auxiliary power supplied. The hydraulic fluid reservoir was filled, and the sequence valve for the nose landing gear doors was serviced; the reservoir had been drained and a "B" nut on the sequence valve hydraulic line had been loosened by a mechanic prior to the ferry flight. The landing gear was cycled four or five times utilizing the cockpit landing gear selector with no evidence of abnormality observed. The flaps were lowered using the cockpit flap selector with the landing gear selector in the up position, and the warning horn sounded. The throttle was decreased to idle using the cockpit throttle control with the landing gear selector in the up position, and the warning horn sounded. The landing gear selector was placed in the up position, and the emergency gear extension procedures were followed; the nose gear extended and locked into the down position, and the main landing gear extended and did not lock. A side force was applied, and each main gear locked into the down position. Per the Information Manual for the PA-46-350P, the emergency landing gear extension procedure includes pulling the emergency gear extend control "while fishtailing airplane." The squat switch circuit was functionally tested and the gear did not retract when the switch was in the open position. No evidence of landing gear system malfunction was observed. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION The Piper Maintenance Manual Card 761-876 for the PA-46-350P states in Chart 1, "Hydraulic System Leading Particulars," the operating time for the landing gear is as follows: Gear up, seven to eight seconds; gear down, seven to eight seconds. The nose gear doors of the PA-46-350P attach to the airframe at outboard hinges. During gear extension, the nose gear doors open downward from the center of the fuselage in advance of the nose gear assembly as the nose gear assembly extends. During gear retraction, the nose gear doors close upward toward the center of the fuselage after the nose gear assembly as the nose gear assembly retracts into the stowed position. The main gear doors of the PA-46-350P cover a portion of the main wheel hub caps when the airplane's weight is on the main wheels. The main gear doors cover no portion of the main wheel hub caps when the gear is in transit or in the retracted position. The main gear wheel hub caps protrude below the underside surface of the wings when the main gear is in the retracted position. During gear extension, the main landing gear extends into the down and locked position before the nose gear assembly extends into the fully down and locked position. During gear retraction, the main landing gear retracts into the stowed position before the nose gear assembly retracts into the fully stowed position. A review of the published Normal Procedures in the Piper Information Manual for the PA-46-350P revealed in Section 4.5m, the action sequence for the "Approach and Landing Checklist" includes the action item, "Gear ... DOWN."
The pilot's inadequate inflight planning and failure to extend the landing gear, which resulted in a wheels-up landing.
Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database
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