During a subsequent postaccident examination, the FAA ASI reported that he found no abnormalities with the electrical system.

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.Īccording 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.

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. During a postaccident interview, the pilot reported that he believed he had “a total electrical failure.”Īccording 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. 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. Subsequently, the pilot believed the landing gear was down, so he returned to the airport for landing. 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 circled a few miles east of the airport to troubleshoot the issue. During the return, the pilot moved the landing gear selector to the down position, but the three gear down indicator lights did not illuminate. 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. Accident investigation report completed and information captured

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