Tom-D
Taxi to Parking
- Joined
- Feb 23, 2005
- Messages
- 34,740
- Display Name
Display name:
Tom-D
Many of you folks know that one of my long time customers owns 1 of the 12 UC3-Bs in the world. He has a hangar here at 76S that he keeps the Twin Bee. He asked me to get the "B" ready to ferry to Richland Wa. to be near his new home there. So Sunday night I finished the Annual, and packed the "B" with every thing that goes with it, and told the Ferry Pilot that it was ready.
The "B" has not been flown for over 2 years but the Ferry pilot was the last person to fly it, and was teaching in it when th owner allowed the annual to expire due to my not wanting to do the annual because students were flying it.
Tuesday the weather was clear, and the Ferry pilot wanted to get current in the "B" and do a PMCF (post maint. check flight) to see all is well before heading out across the Cascades.
First time around the pattern was to flex the gear, see all the horns and bells work, yep every thing work as advertized. Second stop and go went well until the landing. That is when he forgot to do the gear down and locked thingy. and on roll out the gear colapsed, grinding off what was left of the keel, you see he did this 2 years ago too.
It is common practice in the "B" to unlock the gear and have it in trail position in case you must go for the water in an emergency. the gear will not trip you up entering the water. it will just drag to the up position.
Here is the oddity of the "B" the doors open into the prop arc, so the cabin doors have a closed and locked green light to warn that a door is open.
It is located very close to the landing gear down and locked light, both have cat eye lenzes that you can close to stop the bright light in your eyes. both are green in the land on land mode, and one green and one red for the land on water mode.
If you close the Landing gear down and locked light cat eye, the door closed and lock light is green and can very easy be mistaken for the landing gear green land on land light.
As the "B" touched down the gear was not locked, it looked down, but it was not locked and it went to the trail position and allowed the aircraft to set down on its keel, and scrapped for about 250 feet before coming to a stop setting on a very flat keel.
It looks to me like about $40-$60k in damages to the hull.
NTSB and the FAA both were here today doing the investigation, and both agree that it was a gear up = pilot error.
The picture isn't very good, but shows the keel which should stick down about 1.5 inches.
The "B" has not been flown for over 2 years but the Ferry pilot was the last person to fly it, and was teaching in it when th owner allowed the annual to expire due to my not wanting to do the annual because students were flying it.
Tuesday the weather was clear, and the Ferry pilot wanted to get current in the "B" and do a PMCF (post maint. check flight) to see all is well before heading out across the Cascades.
First time around the pattern was to flex the gear, see all the horns and bells work, yep every thing work as advertized. Second stop and go went well until the landing. That is when he forgot to do the gear down and locked thingy. and on roll out the gear colapsed, grinding off what was left of the keel, you see he did this 2 years ago too.
It is common practice in the "B" to unlock the gear and have it in trail position in case you must go for the water in an emergency. the gear will not trip you up entering the water. it will just drag to the up position.
Here is the oddity of the "B" the doors open into the prop arc, so the cabin doors have a closed and locked green light to warn that a door is open.
It is located very close to the landing gear down and locked light, both have cat eye lenzes that you can close to stop the bright light in your eyes. both are green in the land on land mode, and one green and one red for the land on water mode.
If you close the Landing gear down and locked light cat eye, the door closed and lock light is green and can very easy be mistaken for the landing gear green land on land light.
As the "B" touched down the gear was not locked, it looked down, but it was not locked and it went to the trail position and allowed the aircraft to set down on its keel, and scrapped for about 250 feet before coming to a stop setting on a very flat keel.
It looks to me like about $40-$60k in damages to the hull.
NTSB and the FAA both were here today doing the investigation, and both agree that it was a gear up = pilot error.
The picture isn't very good, but shows the keel which should stick down about 1.5 inches.
Last edited:
