Piper PA-24 N7059P

Summary

On 17 January 2024 at about 00:15 local time, a Piper PA-24 registered N7059P was involved in an accident near Hugo, Oklahoma, United States. One person was 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.

Date

17 January 2024 at 00:15

Classification

Accident

Location

Hugo, Oklahoma, United States

Nearest airport

Stan Stamper Municipal (HHW)

Coordinates

34.0336, -95.5421

Aircraft

Piper PA-24

Registration

N7059P

Category

Airplane

Year built

1960

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Waynesboro → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Night

NTSB number

CEN24LA091

Nobody was injured.

The binding of a main landing gear push-pull cable, which rendered the landing gear inoperative in a partially retracted position. Contributing to the accident was the pilot’s delay in executing a landing, which led to a total loss of engine power due to fuel starvation.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot reported that after takeoff, he retracted the landing gear but did not receive an “Up” indication. He then lowered the landing gear and noted a “Down” indication but did not receive an “Up” indication upon subsequent retraction of the landing gear a second time. The pilot elected to continue the flight with the landing gear not fully retracted. As the airplane approached its destination, the pilot attempted to lower the landing gear. The circuit breaker tripped and the landing gear motor stopped. The pilot attempted to reset the circuit breaker and cycled the landing gear several times, but the breaker continued to trip and he did not receive either gear “Up” or “Down” indications. The pilot performed a flyby of the airport, and ground observers signaled to him that the landing gear was not extended. He attempted the emergency landing gear extension procedure, but the gear extension lever would not move. The pilot noted that he circled the airport for about 40 minutes while he attempting to diagnose the landing gear issues. He ultimately decided to land with the landing gear not fully extended, and he continued to perform flybys to evaluate the terrain adjacent to the runway for landing. After determining the location where he would perform the landing, the pilot conducted prelanding checks, which included selecting the fullest fuel tank based on the fuel gauge readings. While maneuvering the airplane to land, the airplane’s engine stopped producing power, and the pilot executed a forced landing to a nearby field. The airplane struck small trees during the landing and then impacted the ground. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the fuselage and left wing. After the accident, the push-pull cables were disconnected at the main landing gear, and the gear motor released via the emergency extension release lever, the emergency extension handle still had significant resistance to movement consistent with binding of the main landing gear push pull cables. A postaccident examination also revealed that the left tank, which the pilot reported was the tank with more fuel indicated, was empty. The right tank (which had less fuel indicated) still had about 5 gallons of fuel remaining. After the accident, the fuel selector was found turned to the left (empty) tank. Based on the available evidence, one of the main landing gear push-pull cables became bound, which locked the landing gear in a partially retracted position. Which cable was bound and the reason that the cable was bound was not determined. The loss of engine power while troubleshooting the landing gear was the result of fuel starvation.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.