What happened
On November 30, 2017, a Beechcraft A3/36, registration PT-JVM, was performing touch-and-go maneuvers at the Silvio Name Júnior Aerodrome in Maringá, Brazil. The flight, operated by a private pilot, had been underway for approximately twenty minutes. During the third landing attempt of the session, while the aircraft was in the takeoff roll following a touchdown, the landing gear was retracted.
As a result of the gear retraction, the aircraft dragged along the runway for 103 meters before coming to a stop sideways across runway 10. The impact caused substantial damage to the engine, propeller, underside of the fuselage, and the wings. Both crew members on board escaped the incident without injury.
The investigation
CENIPA investigators examined the cockpit configuration and the flight sequence. The investigation established that the aircraft was within weight and balance limits and held a valid Certificate of Airworthiness, although the logbooks for the airframe, engine, and propeller were found to be outdated. The pilots held valid medical certificates and licenses, though the recent experience of the co-pilot in this specific model could not be confirmed.
Investigators focused on the physical layout of the cockpit controls. It was noted that the landing gear lever and the flap lever were positioned in close proximity and featured identical white colors. While the levers were distinguishable by the shape of their switches, the similarity in color and placement contributed to the error.
Findings
- The inadvertent retraction of the landing gear was caused by the crew confusing the landing gear lever with the flap lever.
- A reduction in the crew's level of alertness, potentially due to the successful completion of previous maneuvers during the training session, may have contributed to the error.
- The similarity in color and proximity of the two control levers served as a contributing factor to the misidentification of the commands.