On November 13, 1992, a Beech F33A (registration N1553A) operated by Airline Training Center was involved in an aviation accident near Phoenix, AZ. Investigators recorded the probable cause as: THE DUAL STUDENTS PREMATURE RETRACTION OF THE LANDING GEAR DURING THE TAKEOFF PORTION OF A TOUCH AND GO, AND, THE INADEQUATE SUPERVISION OF THE FLIGHT BY THE INSTRUCTOR PILOT. This summary draws on records from the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) historical archive; 3 related events involving the same aircraft type or operator are linked below.
During touch-and-go training, a student prematurely retracted the landing gear, causing the right main gear to collapse and the aircraft to slide into airport signs. The operator had removed safety devices from the fleet.
Incident Overview
A flight instructor and a dual student were practicing touch-and-go landings. After touchdown, the student applied power and then prematurely moved the landing gear selector switch to the retract position. The right main landing gear collapsed, and the aircraft slid into several airport taxiway and runway signs.
Operator's Modification
The instructor stated that some time ago, the operator had removed the landing gear safety devices from each aircraft in the fleet, and that all of the instructors were aware of the problem. Investigation revealed that subsequent to June 1989, the operator's maintenance department had removed the landing gear safety devices (selector lever cover guard and throttle switch) from their fleet.
FAA Action
FAA inspectors discovered the unauthorized modifications in June 1992 and ordered the devices reinstalled. The operator reinstalled the devices during scheduled maintenance periods on all of the fleet except for the accident aircraft.