Piper PA-44-180 N318PA
27 February 2008 · Gila Bend, Arizona, United States · No injuries
Summary
On 27 February 2008 at about 00:15 local time, a Piper PA-44-180 registered N318PA was involved in an accident near Gila Bend, Arizona, United States. 2 people were on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.
The record
- Date
- at 00:15
- Classification
- Accident
- Location
- Gila Bend, Arizona, United States
- Nearest airport
- Gila Bend Muni (E63)
- Coordinates
- 32.9603, -112.6736
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-44-180
- Registration
- N318PA
- Category
- Airplane
- Engines
- 2
- Operator
- Not recorded
- Operating rule
- Part 91: General Aviation
- Purpose of flight
- Instructional
- Phase of flight
- Not recorded
- Route
- Phoenix → Gila Bend
- Aircraft damage
- Substantial
- Weather
- VMC
- Light
- Day
- NTSB number
- LAX08CA067
People
Nobody was injured.
| On board | Died | Serious | Minor | Uninjured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
Probable cause
The flight crew's inadvertent retraction of the landing gear during the landing roll, and the flight instructor's inadequate supervision of the flight.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.
Read the full NTSB narrative
Prior to landing, the student and the certified flight instructor (CFI) had both confirmed that the landing gear down indicator lights were illuminated, and visually confirmed the nose gear was extended by use of an airframe mirror. The pilots indicated that after touchdown the right wing started to drop, and the CFI took the controls, but the airplane veered off of the runway. Before the pilots left the airplane, they both saw the landing gear activation switch in the retracted position. During the recovery of the airplane, the landing gear was extended, retracted, and then extended again. No damage to the landing gear locking mechanism was found. The safety officer of the flight academy interviewed the flight crew and the recovery personnel. After the interviews, it was determined that during the landing roll, one of the crewmembers inadvertently placed the landing gear selector in the "up" position.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.
Other Piper PA-44 accidents
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 Feb 2008 | Piper PA-44-180 | Cahokia, Illinois, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 21 Mar 2008 | Piper PA-44-180 | Inverness, Florida, United States | Orlando Flight Training | No injuries | - |
| 9 Feb 2008 | Piper PA-44-180 | Piru, California, United States | Gavin Aviation | Minor injuries | - |
| 1 Aug 2008 | Piper PA-44-180 | Adriatic Sea, Croatia | InterCockpit - Pilot Training Network GmbH | Fatal | 2 |
| 1 Nov 2008 | Piper PA-44-180 | Lawrenceville, Georgia, United States | Flight School of Gwinnett Inc | No injuries | - |
| 6 Dec 2008 | Piper PA-44-180 | Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, United States | Airline Transport Professionals Corp of USA | Fatal | 4 |
Other accidents in this area
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 May 2008 | Cessna 152 | Glendale, Arizona, United States | Air Safety Flight Academy | No injuries | - |
| 17 Aug 2008 | Aeros VENTURE | Maricopa, Arizona, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 14 Mar 2008 | Beechcraft C23 | Marble Canyon, Arizona, United States | Russell L. Gardner | No injuries | - |
| 15 Mar 2008 | Piper PA-28-181 | Phoenix, Arizona, United States | Pan AM International Flight Academy | No injuries | - |
| 18 Mar 2008 | Cessna 150L | Mesa, Arizona, United States | Arizona Aviation | Minor injuries | - |
| 11 Oct 2008 | Bell 47J-2A | Florence, Arizona, United States | Loflite LLC | No injuries | - |