Incident Overview
On May 1, 2016, a Piper PA-28R-201 aircraft operated by Goldwings Flight Academy was conducting an IFR flight from EPBC (Warsaw-Babice) to EDDS (Stuttgart). During the ILS approach into EDDS in visual meteorological conditions (VMC), the pilot selected the landing gear lever to the DOWN position. However, no gear position indicator lights illuminated—neither the green down-and-locked nor any other indication.
Actions Taken
The pilot repeated the gear extension procedure several times. Then, by setting the throttle to idle, the pilot checked for the audible gear warning horn that typically sounds when the throttle is retarded and the gear is not down. The horn did not activate, which suggested the gear might be down. The pilot informed air traffic control (ATC) of the uncertainty regarding the gear position. ATC reported from the tower that the landing gear appeared to be extended. Based on this information, the pilot decided to land. The landing was conducted normally.
Post-Flight Finding
After taxiing to the parking position, the pilot noticed that the avionics presentation dimmer switch, labeled DAY/NIGHT, was set to the NIGHT position. This setting drastically reduces the brightness of the indicator lights, rendering them invisible in bright daylight conditions.
Probable Cause
The cause of the event was the setting of the avionics presentation dimmer switch DAY/NIGHT to NIGHT position, which caused the lack of visibility of the landing gear position indicator lights in daylight conditions.
Safety Recommendations
No safety recommendations were issued.