Piper PA-44-180 N9290P accident near Okmulgee, Oklahoma

Probable cause

The student pilot’s inadvertent retraction of the nose landing gear and the flight instructor's delayed response.

NTSB analysis

Following a practice instrument approach, the student pilot and flight instructor intended to perform a touch-and-go maneuver. During the landing roll the instructor informed the student to retract the airplane’s flaps; however, the student inadvertently moved the landing gear retraction/extension handle to the “up” position. Although the instructor moved the landing gear handle back to the “down” position, the airplane’s nose landing gear collapsed. The airplane continued down the runway about 240 feet before exiting the right side of the runway into the grass. The airplane came to rest in a nose-down position and all three occupants were able to exit unassisted. An examination of the airplane by maintenance personnel after the accident revealed that the right wing sustained structural damage. There were no reported anomalies with the airplane’s landing gear prior to the accident.

Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for CEN10CA311 for the full record.