Incident Summary
A pilot flying a retractable landing gear airplane reported that after takeoff, an issue with the alternator prompted him to check the circuit breakers. Finding them “in,” he decided to land at a nearby airport for examination of the alternator. During approach, he performed a GUMPS check and moved the landing gear handle to the extended position. The handle felt “normal,” but the pilot did not recall hearing the landing gear motor, observing the high-wing airplane’s landing gear position externally, or seeing the green landing gear position lights. He noted that the landing gear warning horn did not sound.
During the landing, the nose landing gear was down and locked, but the main landing gear trailed behind the airplane. The airplane slid to the left side of the runway, resulting in substantial damage to the left horizontal stabilizer and elevator.
Pilot Report
The pilot stated that if he had known the main landing gear had not extended, he would have manually pumped them down.
Mechanic Report
A mechanic reported that upon arriving postaccident, he found the landing gear circuit breaker had popped. After jacking the airplane and repositioning the landing gear, he turned on the power, pushed in the landing gear circuit breaker, and raised the landing gear. He did not recall hearing the warning horn but mentioned that the throttle “may have been pushed in.” The mechanic successfully cycled the landing gear multiple times. Additionally, a previous pilot of the accident airplane had reported that the landing gear circuit breaker would often pop, prompting him to lower the gear using the manual pump.
Damage
The airplane sustained substantial damage to the left horizontal stabilizer and elevator.