U
Unregistered
Guest
Pilot preflights a twin engine retractable gear aircraft and determines all is well for flight. The plan is to fly to one airport about an hour away, pick up some friends and travel to another airport another hour and a half further away.
Pilot verifies three green before landing and lands uneventfully. Pilot taxis to ramp and notices that the nosewheel steering is no longer functional. He uses differential power and braking and proceeds to the ramp without a problem. Pilot checks all linkages, verifying that all is well, picks up his passengers and proceeds to take off.
After rotation, he notices that the anti-retraction squat system has engaged the gear handle lever to prevent the gear from being retracted. He slides the lock aside to retract the gear and raises the gear normally. All seems well. The "all up" gear indicator is illuminated and the flight progress normally.
At the destination airport, when the gear are extended, all seems normal, except he has no nose gear indicator light. He checks everything, including the light bulb, and everything seems to be in order. It is dark, so he cannot see the nose gear in the reflection. He chooses to do a low pass, to do a go around and cycle the gear again, and ask the tower if they can see his gear. They cannot, but an army helo with Night Vision Goggles verifies that the gear all seem down properly on the next low pass. He goes around again and lands uneventfully.
Unfortunately, during the two patterns and low passes, the tower calls out the crash trucks, and they line the runway on both sides and follow him down the runway to his parking spot. He thanks them all, fills out some information on the police record, and tends to the passengers and his aircraft.
Who is responsible for the costs of dispatching these trucks? Is there likely to be any repercussions from this episode?
More information on this later......
Pilot verifies three green before landing and lands uneventfully. Pilot taxis to ramp and notices that the nosewheel steering is no longer functional. He uses differential power and braking and proceeds to the ramp without a problem. Pilot checks all linkages, verifying that all is well, picks up his passengers and proceeds to take off.
After rotation, he notices that the anti-retraction squat system has engaged the gear handle lever to prevent the gear from being retracted. He slides the lock aside to retract the gear and raises the gear normally. All seems well. The "all up" gear indicator is illuminated and the flight progress normally.
At the destination airport, when the gear are extended, all seems normal, except he has no nose gear indicator light. He checks everything, including the light bulb, and everything seems to be in order. It is dark, so he cannot see the nose gear in the reflection. He chooses to do a low pass, to do a go around and cycle the gear again, and ask the tower if they can see his gear. They cannot, but an army helo with Night Vision Goggles verifies that the gear all seem down properly on the next low pass. He goes around again and lands uneventfully.
Unfortunately, during the two patterns and low passes, the tower calls out the crash trucks, and they line the runway on both sides and follow him down the runway to his parking spot. He thanks them all, fills out some information on the police record, and tends to the passengers and his aircraft.
Who is responsible for the costs of dispatching these trucks? Is there likely to be any repercussions from this episode?
More information on this later......