Pilot’s Inadvertent Use Of The Landing Gear Control Handle Instead Of The Flaps Selector Switch During The Landing Rollout

Location: Watsonville, California Accident Number: WPR24LA278
Date & Time: August 9, 2024, 17:50 Local Registration: N727VB
Aircraft: Cirrus Design Corp SF50 Aircraft Damage: Substantial
Defining Event: Landing gear collapse Injuries: 2 None
Flight Conducted Under: Part 91: General aviation - Business

Analysis: The pilot reported that during the landing roll, about the time that he was applying the brakes, the nose landing gear collapsed. Having no training on what to do in this scenario, he cycled the landing gear by raising then lowering the landing gear control handle. Postflight inspection revealed substantial to the undercarriage near the nose landing gear bay. 

Stored onboard central maintenance computer (CMC) data showed that before touchdown the airplane was properly configured for landing with the flaps at 100%; the nose and both main landing gear were down and locked. After touchdown and during the landing roll, while both weight-on-wheels switches were temporarily unloaded, the landing gear handle was raised and then lowered, which unlocked the nose gear and allowed it to collapse. Additionally, both main landing gear became unlocked, but re-locked before they could collapse. After the nose gear collapse, the gear handle indicated an unexplained 4-second anomaly by indicating neither up nor down, then indicating down.

Postaccident examination and a landing gear swing test revealed no preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. A missing nose landing gear locking spring from the nose gear assembly was not causal to the accident.

The flaps selector switch was located below the landing gear control handle. Further review of CMC data showed that the operators of the airplane often raise the flaps within seconds after touchdown, which was about the time that the nose landing gear collapsed. Although the pilot was familiar with the airplane and had accrued about 102 flight hours within the past 90 days, it is likely that the pilot inadvertently raised the landing gear control handle during the landing roll instead of selecting the flap selector switch to 0%. 

Probable Cause and Findings: The National Transportation Safety Board determines the probable cause(s) of this accident to be -- The pilot’s inadvertent use of the landing gear control handle instead of the flaps selector switch during the landing rollout, which resulted in the collapse of the nose landing gear. 

FMI: www.ntsb.gov