A Plane Lands Gear-Up in Atlanta

K

KennyFlys

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It seems a 172RG landed gear-up at Dekalb-Peachtree Airport in Atlanta (KPDK). It happen while I was up on the afternoon traffic flight. Apparently, it tied up the airport for a good bit of time. I had left and wasn't even in the airspace very long as I transitioned on to other Class D's to harass.

They had issues getting the gear up to start with. So, they burned fuel and eventually landed safely with the mains collapsed and the nose staying locked and protecting the prop.

When I left the airport at 8PM, the CFI and student were still waiting to speak with the FAA. I'll get a look at it tomorrow.

The initial story and only part of the mass following by the Atlanta media.

The follow-up and final shot of it's safe ending.

Oh, I guess I should mention... this particularly 172RG... N6562V... was the best flying of the three we have. It was also on my schedule for the CFI checkride on Monday.
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Now, to fight over the other two!
 
Quite a stroke of luck that the nosewheel stayed locked... and speaking of luck, looks like you dodged a bullet...! :D
 
Could have had a safer landing if it had been on a treadmill.
 
are the two that are left the two that you rejected on preflight last week after finding gear issues with both??
 
tonycondon said:
are the two that are left the two that you rejected on preflight last week after finding gear issues with both??
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Nawwww... both are fine with small exceptions. On 88R, it's a stiff throttle but not as bad as it has been. It's just kind of hard to pull to idle when you want a power-off 180. On 79B, the right seat pan sucks. You have one very sore butt after you're in it for an hour.

I'll fly 88R later this morning.
 
KennyFlys said:
Nawwww... both are fine with small exceptions. On 88R, it's a stiff throttle but not as bad as it has been. It's just kind of hard to pull to idle when you want a power-off 180. On 79B, the right seat pan sucks. You have one very sore butt after you're in it for an hour.

I'll fly 88R later this morning.
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Use 79B for your checkride! He'll make it quick, once his butt starts hurting! :)
 
nah tom, Kenny will be in the right seat.

sorry for the confusion Kenny, i thought I remembered you in flashchat the other night talking about how one of the RGs had a power pack problem and another had "gear issues" that were undiagnosed.
 
tonycondon said:
nah tom, Kenny will be in the right seat.
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Yep, the CFI suffers in that bird.

sorry for the confusion Kenny, i thought I remembered you in flashchat the other night talking about how one of the RGs had a power pack problem and another had "gear issues" that were undiagnosed.
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That was the same bird. It was low on fluid after the flight according to maintenance. Since the book calls for checking the fluid every twenty-five hours, it wasn't checked before the flight.

When it landed this time, there was no fluid in the reservoir. I saw it earlier. The damage was the bottom of the tail, right horizontal stabilizer, an antenna and the wing tip.

According to the owner, it used to be the perfect plane. When a mech went over the plane for prepurchase, the old fella selling it got upset when the mech stepped on the actual step on the strut. He used only a step ladder to reach the fuel cap.

The media was driving the school nuts last night and today. They are referring to a "student pilot" and he is actually another CFI candidate. So, he's getting a lot of teasing today.
 
KennyFlys said:
The media was driving the school nuts last night and today. They are referring to a "student pilot" and he is actually another CFI candidate. So, he's getting a lot of teasing today.
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I'm curious did they land with the nose gear down because they could not get it to come up?
 
KennyFlys said:
They had issues getting the gear up to start with. So, they burned fuel and eventually landed safely with the mains collapsed and the nose staying locked and protecting the prop.
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RMCN172RG said:
I'm curious did they land with the nose gear down because they could not get it to come up?
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Sounds like they landed with the gear out but without a locked indication. The Mains collapsed but the nose did not.
 
KennyFlys said:
On 88R, it's a stiff throttle but not as bad as it has been. It's just kind of hard to pull to idle when you want a power-off 180.
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Just out of curiosity, have you tried loosening the friction lock?:D
 
wow so the bird has gear issues and they blast off without a complete preflight of a system known to be finicky, particularly dependent on the fluid level? I would be asking strong questions as to WHY the fluid level was low? hydraulic fluid doesnt just dissapear, it has to go somewhere. any sort of leak in a cessna single retract should be an immediate grounding until fixed. the pump will pump all the fluid overboard eventually and then you get to gear it up like these guys did...
 
RMCN172RG said:
I'm curious did they land with the nose gear down because they could not get it to come up?
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I don't know the details on mechanics discovered after it was inspected today so I really don't know if the nose gear was locked. But, the RG's nose retracts forward. When it's down that back pressure is probably what kept it down but not necessarily locked. The mains fold rearward into the fuselage so there's no downward force beyond the hydraulic power pack. They were barely dropped down just from the gravity.

They had tried jerk drops to get them down and then steep turns. The were pretty sure they hit two G's trying to drop the gear. Someone had suggested setting up a tight spin but that was quickly dismissed by Lucas. It was pretty clear he'd rather scratch up a belly than become a test pilot.

I don't know what's going to happen with the hull at this point. It's supposed to be inspected by insurance next week but I got the impression it might end up being bought out with the insured value.

I'm hoping they buy into a 182RG. We'll see.
 
Teller1900 said:
Just out of curiosity, have you tried loosening the friction lock?:D
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Dang, I knew I was forgetting something! :)

Actually, it was very stiff without the friction lock. I flew 88R this morning and it went pretty well. It's still more stiff than 62V but easier. One of the first times I flew 88R, I had such a hard time pulling the throttle out. I was coming in so hot there was not a prayer of going sideways on that gear. :)
 
tonycondon said:
wow so the bird has gear issues and they blast off without a complete preflight of a system known to be finicky, particularly dependent on the fluid level? I would be asking strong questions as to WHY the fluid level was low? hydraulic fluid doesnt just dissapear, it has to go somewhere. any sort of leak in a cessna single retract should be an immediate grounding until fixed. the pump will pump all the fluid overboard eventually and then you get to gear it up like these guys did...
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Actually, the chief CFI agrees with you. As of this morning, power pack reservoirs are checked on every preflight. No more 25-hour checks. 88R was well above the add line.

I think there was something more there but only the mechanics know the details. We'll find out more as time goes on. It had flown at least a half-dozen times between last Saturday and yesterday. Hardly a weekday goes by without every plane we have flying at least once and many of them on Saturday and Sunday.
 
the nose gear will not hold the load at low speeds unless it is locked. Been there, tried that ;)
 
tonycondon said:
the nose gear will not hold the load at low speeds unless it is locked. Been there, tried that ;)
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Well, I guess the dang thing was locked, then!

I can't help think about the discussion over a leaky faucet in "My Cousin Vinny" while writing that. :D

I flew 88R today. With winds reported as 280 @ 14G20 landing 26, I'm thinking I put it's gear through a good workout. But, at least the landings and maneuvers are PTS. They aren't perfect but they ARE within PTS! :)

Now, I get to perform on Monday.

BTW, while walking out to the plane this morning, Lucas was headed to another with his student. Brian was on the roof looking around and every time Lucas was on final again, choppers would move closer. The funny thing is, all the news choppers are based at PDK, not even a thousand feet from our hangar. It wasn't until the tower gave them a discreet frequency did the choppers back away and stay.

Lucas was performing for a video that apparently made it on every news station, including CNN since they are based here. Chad's still a "student pilot." :)
 
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