Pilot Debrief

PIPER PA-30 near Walla Walla, WA — 2009-07-22

Final reportWPR09LA372
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Date
2009-07-22
Location
Walla Walla, WA, USA
Airport
ALW
Aircraft
PIPER PA-30
Registration
N7504Y
Category
Airplane
Highest injury
None
Fatalities
0
Phase of flight
Landing

Probable cause

A tripped landing gear motor circuit breaker, which prevented the gear from fully locking in the down position, and subsequent collapse during landing. Contributing to the accident was the disabled landing gear warning horn.

NTSB narrative

The pilot reported that he stayed in the airport traffic pattern, and completed one takeoff and landing. Prior to the second landing, the landing gear was down, all indications appeared normal, and he did not hear an audible alert when he reduced power for landing. As the airplane touched down, the landing gear collapsed, which resulted in substantial damage to the wing. The pilot stated that he noticed smoke coming from the circuit breaker panel on the floor as he exited the airplane. The operator reported that they had previously been having trouble with the landing gear circuit breaker popping during gear extension and retraction. Six flight hours prior to the accident, they had replaced numerous landing gear system components including the landing gear motor circuit breaker. Ground and flight tests had been successfully completed without a recurrence, which led them to believe that the situation had been resolved. Post accident examination of the airplane revealed that the landing gear motor circuit breaker had tripped, which prevented the landing gear from fully locking in the down position. The landing gear warning circuit is powered by the landing gear motor circuit, and would not activate with the circuit breaker tripped.

Analysis

Primary failure mode
Mechanical failure
First missed decision gate
Addressing recurring landing gear circuit breaker issues before the flight.

NTSB coding

Evidence available

  • 1 docket document
View NTSB final reportView NTSB docket

Docket documents1

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