Pilot Debrief

PIPER PA-30 near Baltimore, MD — 2010-03-17

Final reportERA10CA183
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Date
2010-03-17
Location
Baltimore, MD, USA
Airport
MTN
Aircraft
PIPER PA-30
Registration
N7925Y
Category
Airplane
Highest injury
None
Fatalities
0
Phase of flight
Landing

Probable cause

The pilot's inadvertent retraction of the landing gear during a touch-and-go landing. Contributing to the accident was the pilot's lack of recent experience in the make and model airplane.

NTSB narrative

The pilot stated that he accumulated 26 hours of flight time in the accident airplane about 2 years prior to the accident, but had not flown the accident airplane since. About 1 week prior to the accident, the pilot obtained his airplane multiengine rating in a different make and model than the accident airplane. The pilot stated that the purpose of the accident flight was to perform full-stop landings in order to familiarize himself with the airplane. While on the downwind leg of the traffic pattern for the first landing, he was cleared by the air traffic control tower for a "touch-and-go." After the airplane touched down, the pilot applied full power, and intended to retract the wing flaps, but inadvertently retracted the landing gear instead. The landing gear "immediately" collapsed, and the airplane slid to a stop on its underside. Both wings were substantially damaged. The pilot stated there were no mechanical malfunctions or failures, and that the accident might have been prevented if he had declined the touch-and-go landing, and had taken time to become more familiar with the locations of the landing gear and flap controls. He also stated that he had recently trained in an airplane with a "different layout," and his "sense memory for the controls was wrong."

Analysis

Primary failure mode
Human factors
First missed decision gate
Pilot could have declined the touch-and-go to familiarize with controls.

NTSB coding

Evidence available

  • 1 docket document
View NTSB final reportView NTSB docket

Docket documents1

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