Piper PA32R N6885F accident near Fort Mohave, Arizona

Probable cause

The pilot's failure to extend the landing gear for landing.

NTSB analysis

The pilot reported that, during the initial climb, he retracted the landing gear normally and then "a few minutes later the radios went blank." He believed he had a radio problem, so he decided to return to the airport. During the return, the pilot moved the landing gear selector to the down position, but the three gear down indicator lights did not illuminate. Subsequently, the pilot circled a few miles east of the airport to troubleshoot the issue.

The pilot reported that, during the circling, he "cycled the master switch and the radio master a couple times with no results." The pilot added that the airplane was equipped with an "automatic gear extension system," so he verified that the override switch was not engaged, fully extended the flaps, and slowed the airplane to 85 knots. Subsequently, the pilot believed the landing gear was down, so he returned to the airport for landing. During touchdown, the left main landing gear and nose gear collapsed (or were not extended), and the airplane veered off the runway into dirt, which resulted in substantial damage to the left wing. During a postaccident interview, the pilot reported that he believed he had "a total electrical failure."

According to a witness who owns a house on the airport property, he observed the airplane depart and about 5 minutes later, saw that the airplane had returned for landing. The witness reported that the airplane's landing gear were retracted until the point at which the pilot began the landing flare over the runway. When the airplane was about 5 ft above the runway, each landing gear began to extend, but the airplane touched down before the nose gear and left main landing gear could extend fully.

According to a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) aviation safety inspector (ASI) who arrived at the accident site about 2 to 3 hours after the event, when he "switched the master switch on," he observed electrical equipment turn on and heard the landing gear extension motor running. During a subsequent postaccident examination, the FAA ASI reported that he found no abnormalities with the electrical system. He also extended the landing gear to the down-and-locked position with the electric/hydraulic system and observed three green indicator lights illuminate.

According to the Pilot's Operating Handbook (POH) for the accident airplane, a "pressure sensing device" in the landing gear system will lower the gear "regardless of the gear selection position," pending that the override switch is not engaged. The POH further stated, in part, "The gear is designed to extend at airspeeds below approximately103 KIAS [knots indicated airspeed] with power off even if the selector is in the up position. The extension speeds will vary from approximately 81 KTS [knots] to approximately 103 KIAS depending on power settings and altitude."

It is likely that the pilot failed to extend the landing gear for landing and that, as the airspeed slowed during the landing flare, the pressure sensing device automatically deployed the landing gear. However, due to the insufficient altitude and time, the landing gear were unable to fully extend and lock.

Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for GAA17CA126 for the full record.