NTSB Factual Report

HISTORY OF FLIGHT

On January 31, 2014, at 1312 central standard time, a Piaggio P180 airplane, N700FE, was substantially damaged when the landing gear retracted during landing roll at Abraham Lincoln Capital Airport (SPI), Springfield, Illinois. The pilot, copilot, and 3 passengers were not injured. The airplane was registered to Peregrine Falcon, Inc. and operated by Mountain Aviation, Inc., under the provisions of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 91 while on an instrument flight rules flight plan. Day instrument meteorological conditions prevailed for the cross-country business flight that departed Dane County Regional Airport (MSN), Madison, Wisconsin, at 1156.

The pilot reported that he told the copilot to select landing gear down and to reposition the flaps as the airplane approached the outer marker for the instrument landing system (ILS) runway 4 approach at SPI. The pilot stated that after repositioning the landing gear selector handle to gear-down the hydraulic system pressure indicated 3,000 pounds per square inch (psi), but he did not observe a safe landing gear indication. The pilot made a missed approach at the final approach fix to troubleshoot the landing gear system anomaly. The landing gear selector handle was cycled several times, each time without a safe gear-down indication. The copilot then declared an emergency with air traffic control. The pilot and copilot then completed the emergency landing gear extension checklist procedure; landing gear selector handle in the down position, hydraulic system off, emergency landing gear selector valve pulled, and then manually pump the landing gear down. The pilot reported that after completing the emergency landing gear extension they observed a safe gear-down indication. The copilot then advised the air traffic controller that they were ready to continue to the instrument approach and canceled their emergency.

The pilot reported that while they were being vectored back to the final approach course he and the copilot discussed if the hydraulic system could be turned back on to have power-assisted braking and nosewheel steering available upon landing on the snow-covered runway. The pilot stated that after the hydraulic system was turned on he observed a system pressure indication of 750 psi and did not observe an unsafe indication for the hydraulic system. Additionally, the safe gear-down indicators remained illuminated after the hydraulic system was turned back on.

The pilot reported that the flight was vectored for the ILS runway 4 approach at SPI and the airplane descended below clouds about 600 ft above ground level (agl) while on final approach. He stated that the touchdown was as slow and as soft as possible, and that he gradually applied wheel braking to slowly decelerate the airplane during the landing roll. He noted that the wheel brakes were less effective than normal and that the nosewheel steering was inoperative, but the airplane still decelerated to a walking speed as it approached the foxtrot taxiway turnoff. The pilot stated that he believed the diminished braking and lack of nosewheel steering was because the emergency landing gear selector valve was still in the extended position. The pilot reported that the landing gear collapsed as he "reached for" the emergency landing gear selector valve handle. The pilot further stipulated that he "did not make contact with the emergency selector" before the landing gear collapsed.

According to a transcript of the cockpit voice recorder (CVR), while inflight, at 1255:34, the copilot began pumping the landing gear down and 1 minute 3 seconds later the pilot stated "Okay, three green." At 1256:38, the copilot stated "ahhh, alright [exhaling]" and the sound of his pumping the emergency handle ceased. At 1259:43, the copilot asked the pilot "do you want the hydraulic pressure on for steering and braking?" The pilot replied "I was going to say. I think, ah, we should do that. Do you think that's acceptable?" At 1259:49, the pilot replied "okay… I do." At 1259:50, the pilot said "alright, I like that" and the sound of the hydraulic motor commences. At 1301:17, the pilot asked the copilot "there wasn't anything else in the checklist after pumping it down, correct?" The copilot replied, "it comes down, three green." At 1301:22, the pilot asked the copilot "okay, it didn't say go to any others?" The copilot replied "no." At 1301:35, the copilot told the pilot "checklist doesn't regard it… doesn't really have a checklist for… gear stuck." The copilot then said, "it has hydraulic failure, which would say pump the gear down." The copilot then told the pilot the remaining landing gear emergency checklists were for a gear-up landing, nose gear unlocked, and main gear unlocked.

According to the CVR transcript, while on final approach to the runway, at 1310:37, the copilot stated "We're set. We've got three green, no red. Hydraulic pressure is seven fifty and we've got zero diff." At 1311:25, the airplane touched down on the runway and the pilot told the copilot to move the propeller levers full forward and set the engine power to ground idle. At 1312:05, the pilot stated, "I don't think I'm getting very good brakes… I don't have any pressure." At 1312:08, the copilot replied, "no pressure?" At 1312:09, the pilot stated, "no pressure." At 1312:10, the copilot stated, "try the steering." At 1312:12, pilot replied, "oh, you know we have the ah T-bar in." At 1312:15, the copilot stated, "okay." At 1312:17, the copilot stated, "pull it." Between 1312:17 and 1312:23, the landing gear warning horn was heard, the sound of the hydraulic system momentarily decreased before it increased back to normal, and there was the sound of rumbling and scraping consistent with the landing gear retracting and the airplane impacting the ground.

PERSONNEL INFORMATION

--- Pilot ---

According to Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) records, the 28-year-old pilot held an air transport pilot certificate with ratings for airplane single-engine land, airplane multiengine land, and instrument airplane. His airplane single-engine landing rating was limited to commercial privileges. He held a type rating for Bombardier Dash 8 100/300 airplanes. He also held a flight instructor certificate with ratings for airplane single-engine land and instrument airplane. His most recent FAA first-class medical certificate was issued on August 20, 2013, without any limitations.

The pilot reported having 5,040 total hours of flight experience, of which 4,685 hours were flown in multiengine airplanes. The pilot had flown 1,164 hours in Piaggio P180 airplanes. He had flown 832 hours as pilot-in-command, 1,240 hours at night, and 2,190 hours in actual instrument meteorological conditions. His most recent flight review, as required by 14 CFR 61.56, was completed on December 13, 2013, in a P180 airplane. During the period December 16, 2013, through December 19, 2013, the pilot successfully completed ground and simulator training for the Piaggio P180 airplane at FlightSafety International, West Palm Beach, Florida.

--- Copilot ---

According to Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) records, the 31-year-old copilot held an air transport pilot certificate with ratings for airplane single-engine land, airplane multiengine land, and instrument airplane. His airplane single-engine landing rating was limited to commercial privileges. He held a type rating for Fairchild Swearingen Metroliner airplanes. He also held a flight instructor certificate with ratings for airplane single-engine land and instrument airplane. His most recent FAA first-class medical certificate was issued on April 29, 2013, without any limitations.

The copilot reported having 5,270 total hours of flight experience, of which 3,893 hours were flown in multiengine airplanes. The copilot had flown 1,900 hours in Piaggio P180 airplanes. He had flown 3,388 hours as pilot-in-command, 685 hours at night, and 340 hours in actual instrument meteorological conditions. His most recent flight review, as required by 14 CFR 61.56, was completed on September 27, 2013, in a P180 airplane. During the period February 11, 2013, through February 14, 2013, the copilot successfully completed ground and simulator training for the Piaggio P180 airplane at FlightSafety International, West Palm Beach, Florida.

AIRCRAFT INFORMATION

The 2013-model-year airplane, serial number 1232, was a twin-engine airplane of aluminum and composite construction. The airplane was powered by two 850 shaft-horsepower Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-66B turbo-propeller engines, through 5-blade, counter-rotating, constant speed, full-feathering, Hartzell HC-E5N-3A propellers. The airplane was equipped with a retractable tricycle landing gear and a pressurized cabin that was configured to seat 10 individuals. The airplane was approved for operations in instrument meteorological conditions and known icing conditions. The airplane had a maximum allowable takeoff weight of 12,100 pounds. On November 22, 2013, the airplane was issued a standard airworthiness certificate and a registration number when it was imported into the United States after manufacture in Italy. The current airplane owner, Peregrine Falcon, LLC, purchased the airplane on December 20, 2013. According to the operator, the airplane had been maintained under the provisions of an approved manufacturer inspection program and had accumulated 45.5 total hours since new.

The airplane landing gear are extended and retracted by hydraulic fluid delivered to an actuator on each landing gear. Each actuating cylinder is provided with internal up and down locks. The locks are a normally closed type and can be only opened by applying positive pressure. Each lock directly actuates the switches controlling the landing gear position indicating lights on the instrument panel. An internal shuttle valve in each actuating cylinder allows landing gear extension on the main or on the emergency hydraulic lines.

The hydraulic system provides power for the actuation of the landing gear, nosewheel steering, and main wheel brake system. The modular hydraulic power package consists of a variable displacement pump driven by an electric motor, an integral hydraulic fluid reservoir, a solenoid-operated directional valve, a pressure transducer, and filter assembly. The hydraulic power package operates in three different modes (high duty, low duty, and non-operating mode). The high duty mode delivers hydraulic pressure in the nominal range from 1,800 to 3,100 psi for landing gear extension and retraction. The solenoid-operated directional valve directs hydraulic pressure to the landing gear actuators during normal extension and retraction. When the landing gear reaches a fully retracted position, the gear-up stop switch turns off the hydraulic system (non-operating mode). When the landing gear reaches a fully extended position, the gear-down stop switches signal the hydraulic power package to enter low duty mode (800 to 1,200 psi) to deliver hydraulic pressure for nosewheel steering and wheel brake actuation. The airplane flight manual prohibits the engagement of nosewheel steering until after the landing is completed, after which the use of nosewheel steering is permitted in the TAKE OFF mode. Landing gear squat switches prevent the directional control valve from delivering hydraulic pressure to the retract lines if the landing gear control lever is inadvertently moved to the gear-up position while the airplane is on the ground.

The emergency landing gear extension system consists of an emergency selector valve and a hand pump. The emergency selector valve is installed on the left side of the center pedestal and the hand pump is on the right side of the pedestal. When the emergency selector valve handle is extended, the hand pump hydraulic line is connected to the emergency gear extend line at each landing gear actuator and the normal hydraulic return line is connected to the emergency return line. Operation of the hand pump operates shuttle valves in each landing gear actuator to provide hydraulic pressure to unlock and extend the landing gear. The hand pump, emergency selector valve, and associated hydraulic plumbing are designed to extend the landing gear only. The emergency extension procedure requires the hydraulic system to be turned off, the gear selector handle to be in the down position, and the emergency selector valve handle to be extended. About 60 hand pump strokes over about 90 seconds are required for a positive down lock of all landing gear.

The main wheel brakes are hydraulically actuated. When the airplane is on the ground, the hydraulic pump normally supplies flow to operate the brakes at a regulated pressure of 1,000 psi. When the rudder pedals are depressed, the brake valves allow fluid under pressure to flow the normal lines to the shuttle valves on each brake unit. If the system pressure drops below 500 psi due to a hydraulic power package failure or line breakage, an integral automatic diverter allows the brake valve to operate as a master cylinder, which converts brake pedal action to a fluid pressure directly applied to each brake unit through a separate emergency line that is controlled by the shuttle valve on each brake unit. Emergency brake operation requires about 50% more force on the brake pedals than normal.

METEOROLOGICAL INFORMATION

A postaccident review of available meteorological data established that day instrument meteorological conditions prevailed at the accident site. At 1302, about 10 minutes before the accident, the SPI automated surface observing system reported: wind 010° at 3 knots, 2.5 miles surface visibility with light snow, broken cloud ceiling at 1,000 ft agl, broken cloud ceiling at 5,000 ft agl, temperature -4°C, dew point -8°C, and an altimeter setting of 30.14 inches of mercury.

AIRPORT INFORMATION

Abraham Lincoln Capital Airport (SPI), a public airport located about 3 miles northwest of Springfield, Illinois, was owned and operated by the Springfield Airport Authority. The airport field elevation was 598 ft msl. The airport was served by three runways, runway 4/22 (8,001 ft by 150 ft), runway 13/31 (7,400 ft by 150 ft), and runway 18/36 (5,300 ft by 150 ft). The airport was equipped with an air traffic control tower that was operational at the time of the accident.

FLIGHT RECORDERS

The airplane was equipped with an L-3/Fairchild model FA2100-1020 CVR, serial number 851267. The CVR recording contained about 2 hours 4 minutes of digital audio, which was stored in solid-state memory modules. The CVR was not damaged during the accident and the audio information was extracted from the recorder normally. The recording consisted of four channels of audio information, ranging from good to excellent quality. The first 5 minutes of the recording were from the previous flight. The accident flight recording began about 1119 when the airplane, operated as Foothills 70, received its instrument clearance from MSN clearance delivery. The flight departed MSN about 1156 and climbed to flight level 270. About 1222, the flight received automatic terminal information service (ATIS) information at SPI. After receiving the ATIS information, the flight crew briefed the ILS approach to runway 4 at SPI. By 1239, the flight began receiving air traffic control (ATC) radar vectors toward the final approach course for ILS runway 4 at SPI. At 1243, the airplane had descended to 2,300 ft msl. At 1247, the flight was cleared for the first ILS runway 4 approach to SPI. A full transcript was created for the flight from 1249:57 until 1313:39 as the passengers and flight crew members evacuated the airplane and electrical power was removed from the CVR. The transcript of the CVR audio information is included with the docket materials associated with the investigation. The airplane was not equipped with a flight data recorder, nor was it required to be so equipped.

WRECKAGE AND IMPACT INFORMATION

The airplane's landing gear was found retracted at the accident site. The aviation mechanic who coordinated the recovery of the airplane reported that he observed the landing gear selector handle in the gear-down position, the hydraulic system switch off, the e

NTSB Probable Cause

The pilot's decision to reengage the hydraulic system following the successful extension of the landing gear using the emergency extension procedures. Contributing to the accident was the failure of the directional control valve in the gear-up position and the release of the gear down locks for undetermined reasons.