slackie

Yeah... that looked like a true emergency situation... people screaming, aircraft plummetting, sirens sounding, panic'd crowds, etc etc etc. NOT!

Frank Arouet

Actually Clinton, you redeemed yourself in the article by alerting others to that pitfall. You'll never know of course how many people who read that were saved from the same situation.

Today, that would be a "knee capping" offence, so apt is that it be reposted.

Clinton McKenzie

An interesting perspective, FA.

The majority of the feedback I’ve received over the last 13 years is to the effect that the PIC/Instructor should have been more vigilant during in the landing roll, because of the 1000s of recorded incidents arising from a known risk.

But it was still my stuff up.

Not aware of anyone having been ‘knee-capped’ for it. Perhaps a commercial pilot the third time around as PIC with fare-paying pax on board would be the subject of regulatory scrutiny. But someone like that is making other mistakes, suggesting basic or systemic competence problems.

Are you aware of anyone who’s had regulatory action taken on the grounds of an inadvertent undercarriage retraction?

Frank Arouet

No,but I do know of a bloke who landed wheels up to achieve a similar result in a Comanche and he did have serious action taken against him. I think a F27 landed in a paddock at Bathurst with gear retracted also, but I think that was a sink during a go around. Don't know what happened to him.

I had an undercarriage experience one day with a V35TC that had been flown through trees the previous night and despite a thorough inspection didn't see a faulty micro switch. I think the crash comics had a write up about that one. Same happened with a 33 model Deb with grass and sand after it had been to Orchid Beach. My own near fault was testing the undercarriage alarm on a PA-28R, but all worked out OK.

Another landed "wheel" up, but it appears with a Vari-Eze you don't really need the nose wheel.

I mention Knee Capping to prove my well founded paranoia if ever the bastards do go out of their way to really get me more than they already have.

EDIT to add;

The flap switch is shaped like a flap and the undercarriage switch is shaped like a wheel from memory. Or was that the Arrow thingy?

jas24zzk

Nah Frank, the arrow has that dirty great handbrake handle on the floor for the flaps.

Doubles as a corker if you are silly enough to enter the left seat without retracting the flaps after pre-flighting

Stationair8

Don't Bonanza pilots have a secret handshake or is that Mooney pilots?

Jabawocky

That's the Mooney pilots