Federal Aviation Administration / Flight Standards District Office; Farmingdale, New York
Investigation Docket - National Transportation Safety Board: https://dms.ntsb.gov/pubdms
Aviation Accident Factual Report - National Transportation Safety Board:https://app.ntsb.gov/pdf
Ponderosa Air LLC: http://registry.faa.gov/N127WD
NTSB Identification: GAA16CA527
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Monday, June 20, 2016 in Farmingdale, NY
Aircraft: SWEARINGEN SA226, registration: N127WD
Injuries: 2 Uninjured.
NTSB investigators used data provided by various entities, including, but not limited to, the Federal Aviation Administration and/or the operator and did not travel in support of this investigation to prepare this aircraft accident report.
According to the pilot in command (PIC), he was conducting an instructional flight for his "new SIC (second in command)," and seated in the left seat. He reported that they had flown two previous legs in the retractable landing gear-equipped airplane. During the approach, he recalled that they discussed the events of their previous flights and had complied with the airport control tower's request to "keep our speed up". During the approach, he called for full flaps and retarded the throttle to flight idle. The PIC asserted that there was no indication that the landing gear was not extended, as he did not hear a landing gear warning horn; however, he was wearing a noise cancelling headset. He added that the landing gear position lights were not visible because the knee of SIC obstructed his view of the lights. He recalled that following the flare he heard the airplane propellers hit the runway, and he made the decision not to go-around because of the unknown damage sustained to the propellers. The airplane touched down, and slid to a stop on the runway. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the fuselage bulkheads, longerons and stringers.
The SIC reported that the flight was a training flight in VFR conditions. He noted that the airspace was busy, and during the approach he applied full flaps, but they failed to extend the landing gear. He added that he did not hear the landing gear warning horn; however, he was wearing a noise cancelling headset.
The Federal Aviation Administration, Aviation Safety Inspector that examined the wreckage reported that during recovery the pilot extended the nose landing gear via the normal extension process. However, due to significant damage to the main gear doors, the main landing gear was unable to be extended hydraulically or manually. He added that an operational check of the landing gear warning horn, was not accomplished because the wreckage was unsafe to enter after it was removed from the runway.
Both pilots were wearing noise canceling headsets, and the landing gear warning horn is presented by an aural tone in the cockpit, and is not configured to be heard through the crew's headsets.
When asked, the PIC and the SIC both stated that they could not remember who read the airplane flight manual (AFM) before landing checklist.
The owner of an air charter service crash-landed his plane at Republic Airport in Farmingdale Monday afternoon when his landing gear and a key part of his aircraft’s warning system failed, the pilot said.
Ponderosa Air president Jan Nerud said he and a passenger pilot were not hurt but his 1978 twin-engine plane was “totaled” after it touched down about 6 p.m. at 125 mph and slid 2,000 feet on its belly.
The gear horn, an “excruciating,” repetitive blast, failed to sound the alarm when his wheels did not lower, he said.
“You’re flying the plane . . . and it’s sinking awful low,” Nerud said, “and then you hear the sound that nobody wants to hear, that’s tick tick tick tick tick — that’s the end of the propellers hitting the pavement.”
The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating why the Swearingen SW3 aircraft made a gear-up landing after flying from Westchester County Airport in White Plains to the company’s base in Farmingdale, an agency spokesman said. One runway was closed Monday as FAA investigators examined the plane.
Nerud said he plans to switch to all office work starting in September at his Republic-based business and was getting his passenger, another experienced pilot, familiarized with the small plane so he could take over some flights.
They were ending their 8-minute flight from Westchester with what started as a “perfect landing” and going over landing procedures when they got a jolt.
Clouds of smoke billowed behind the plane from the friction with the tarmac.
Jesse Kozak, 17, who works at Nassau Flyers, a flight training school, said he saw the crash and heard a screeching sound.
“You could definitely hear it, a loud scraping on the runway,” he said. “There were no sparks, just a little bit of dust.”
Nerud said he had recently replaced entire systems on the plane, including $150,000 for avionics, the electronic systems that run communications, navigation, the display and other functions.
Sounding philosophical about the hard landing, Nerud, 68, of Glen Cove said his plane’s gear horn and gear system had never failed him.
“It’s just one of those things,” Nerud said. “It was a great landing, except for one thing — the gear wasn’t down.
“We just took a little ride down the runway, that’s all.”
Story and video: http://www.newsday.com
FARMINGDALE, Long Island -- A twin-engine charter airplane with two people on board made a hard landing with its gear up at Republic Airport on Long Island.
The 68-year-old pilot, Ponderosa Air president Jan Nerud, said that he and his passenger were not hurt, but his plane was "totaled." Nerud said the plane slid about 2,000 feet on its belly after touching down at about 125 mph.
Nerud said he was getting his passenger, also an experienced pilot, familiarized with the plane so he could take over some of the flights.
An FAA spokesman says it happened at about 4 p.m. Monday. He says the Swearingen SW3 aircraft had taken off from Westchester County Airport in White Plains.
One runway was closed as the FAA investigated the incident.
Story and video: http://abc7ny.com
FARMINGDALE, Long Island -- A twin-engine charter airplane with two people on board made a hard landing with its gear up at Republic Airport on Long Island.
The 68-year-old pilot, Ponderosa Air president Jan Nerud, said that he and his passenger were not hurt, but his plane was "totaled." Nerud said the plane slid about 2,000 feet on its belly after touching down at about 125 mph.
Nerud said he was getting his passenger, also an experienced pilot, familiarized with the plane so he could take over some of the flights.
An FAA spokesman says it happened at about 4 p.m. Monday. He says the Swearingen SW3 aircraft had taken off from Westchester County Airport in White Plains.
One runway was closed as the FAA investigated the incident.
Story and video: http://abc7ny.com
FARMINGDALE - Authorities say a plane made a hard landing with its gear up at Republic Airport Monday evening.
There were two people aboard the Merlin SW3 twin-engine plane when it skidded onto Runway 19 shortly before 6 p.m.
Airport officials say the plane skidded into the main runway intersection.
All runways were closed to fixed-wing aircraft as a result of the incident.
The FAA says the aircraft took off from Westchester County Airport in White Plains. The agency says it will investigate the incident.
The cause is not yet known.
Original article can be found here: http://longisland.news12.com
This is a worry to any of us that fly complex airplanes...
ReplyDeleteGlad you weren't injured.... Pride can heal pretty quickly! :-)
Steven Frost
Redding, CA