Piper PA-24-250 N1959P

Summary

On 3 November 2005 at about 01:00 local time, a Piper PA-24-250 registered N1959P was involved in an accident near Tacoma, Washington, United States. 3 people were 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

3 November 2005 at 01:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Tacoma, Washington, United States

Coordinates

47.2681, -122.5781

Aircraft

Piper PA-24-250

Registration

N1959P

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Spanaway → Tacoma

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

SEA06CA018

Nobody was injured.

The collapse of the landing gear due to the pilot's failure to use the emergency gear extension system after his aircraft experienced a complete loss of electrical power. Factors include the malfunction of the voltage regulating system, which lead to the almost total discharge of the battery.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

After making contact with the tower, and being cleared for a left base entry, the pilot completed his before landing check and lowered the landing gear. He then tried to call the tower to report he was entering the base leg, but realized that his radio was not transmitting. The aircraft subsequently experienced a complete loss of electrical power, and the pilot was therefore unable to confirm the gear was down and locked, as the green Gear Down lights were unable to illuminate. The pilot then flew low over the runway until he felt the main wheels touch the runway surface, and then he executed a go-around. After completing the go-around, the pilot went around the pattern and executed what he thought was going to be a normal full stop landing. But just after the aircraft touched down, the landing gear folded back up into the wheel wells, and the aircraft skidded down the runway on its belly. The investigation later determined that the gear had not fully extended because of the loss of electrical power. It was also determined that although the aircraft's battery and alternator were capable of operating normally, the voltage regulating system had malfunctioned, thus allowing the battery to become almost fully discharged. The pilot did not use the emergency gear extension system/sequence to make sure of the position and condition of the landing gear, but instead trusted the gear to be fully down and locked just because he felt the tires touch the runway surface during the low pass.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.