What happened
On September 2, 2015, at 19:49 LMT, a Piper PA-3able-220T Seneca V, registration SP-TBR, operated by Bartolini Air sp. z o.o. Szkoła Lotnicza, was taxiing on taxiway "D" at Szczecin-Goleniów Airport [EPSC] for departure to Łódź-Lublinek [EPLL]. During the taxi, the nose landing gear retracted unexpectedly. This caused the rotating propellers to strike the pavement, leading to the destruction of the propeller blades and the sudden stoppage of both engines.
The pilot informed the tower but did not declare an emergency. There were five occupants on board (two pilots and three passengers), all of whom remained uninjured. Following the initial incident, the aircraft was lifted using airbags to manually extend and lock the nose gear for towing. However, during the subsequent manual tow across the intersection of DK "A" and DK "D", the left main gear and the nose gear retracted a second time.
The investigation
The investigation examined the mechanical state of the landing gear and the damage sustained. The inspection revealed that the propeller blades of both engines were destroyed and the engines required special inspections due to the sudden stoppage. The nose gear bay covers were slightly damaged, and a spring adjuster in the nose gear retraction/extension mechanism had been broken.
Findings
- The primary cause of the incident was the failure to lock the nose gear in the extended position due to mechanical wear of the landing gear kinematics joints.
- Contributing factors included the specific design characteristics of the nose gear retraction system and the aircraft's operational environment.
- The investigation noted that the Piper PA-34 Seneca series has a known history of similar gear retraction issues, often exacerbated by hard landings, taxiing on uneven surfaces, or improper adjustment of the spring adjuster.