Incident Overview
On 29 January 2001 at 1510 UTC, a Beech 76 (registration G-OADY) experienced an inadvertent landing gear retraction during a touch-and-go landing at Leeds Bradford Airport. The aircraft was manufactured in 1978 and powered by two Lycoming O-360-A1G6D piston engines. The flight was a training sortie with two crew members on board—an instructor and a student—and no passengers. Neither crew member sustained injuries. The aircraft sustained damage to its propellers and the underside of the forward fuselage, and the engines were shock loaded.
Flight Details
The commander held a Basic Commercial Pilot's Licence with an Instructor Rating. He was 37 years old with 3,400 total flying hours, of which 950 were on type. His recent flying experience included 110 hours in the last 90 days and 51 hours in the last 28 days. The student occupying the left seat also held a Basic Commercial Pilot's Licence. This was his second operating flight in a multi-engine aircraft, and none of his previous experience was in aircraft with retractable landing gear.
Sequence of Events
During the instructional flight, the pilots completed upper air work before returning to the circuit for a series of touch-and-go landings. Three touch-and-go landings were performed uneventfully, all with full flap. The instructor had briefed that the student should retract the flap during the ground roll before advancing the throttles for takeoff.
On the fourth circuit, the landing was conducted without flaps. After a normal touchdown, the student inadvertently moved the gear selector to the 'up' position while still on the runway. The nose gear retracted, and the aircraft slid along the runway for approximately 150 metres before coming to rest.
The instructor noted that the gear lever requires only a slight movement to activate and that 'squat' switches are designed to prevent gear retraction at airspeeds below 59 to 63 knots. He estimated the aircraft speed on the runway when the gear handle was moved was approximately 60 to 65 knots.
On the Beech 76, the gear handle is located to the left of the throttle quadrant, and the flap handle is to the right. The inadvertent gear selection may have been a combination of an awareness to raise the gear after takeoff and the normal action of raising flap during a touch-and-go ground roll.
Similar Incident
This accident is similar to one involving another Beech 76, G-BGHP, at Exeter Airport on 5 February 2001, also reported in the same AAIB Bulletin.
Information Source
This report is based on an Aircraft Accident Report Form submitted by the pilot and enquiries by the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB).