History of the Flight
The aircraft, a Beech Baron registered N23659, had flown from Guernsey to Jersey for an engine cylinder inspection. On the return flight, the aircraft commander occupied the right seat and the prospective purchaser, an experienced pilot not current on the type, occupied the left seat. After a normal departure and some general handling by the left-seat pilot, control was returned to the commander for landing.
During the approach, the commander confirmed the landing gear was down and locked and performed a normal touchdown on Runway 27 at Guernsey Airport. The weather was good with surface wind from 230° at 13 kt. The commander did not apply braking during the initial landing roll. The other pilot offered to raise the flaps. Before the commander could intervene, the left-seat pilot inadvertently selected the landing gear handle instead of the flap lever and moved it to the UP position. The commander immediately returned the handle to the DOWN position, but the retraction cycle had commenced. The aircraft sank onto the runway, veered to the right, and came to a stop on the right edge of the runway with the nose and right main landing gear fully retracted and the left main gear partially retracted.
The commander isolated the fuel and electrical systems, and both pilots vacated the aircraft through the normal exit. The airport Rescue and Fire Fighting Service attended and helped secure the aircraft.
Landing Gear System
The landing gear system was fitted with a weight-on-wheels protection system. This system uses a microswitch on each main landing gear oleo. When the oleo is compressed (weight on wheels), the switch prevents the landing gear handle from being raised. With the aircraft light on the wheels during the landing roll, the oleo was extended and not compressed, so this protection was not available.
Conclusions
The commander assessed the cause of the accident as the left-seat pilot assuming that the flap lever was located in the same position on the Beech Baron as on other aircraft types he normally flew. The accident illustrates the need to confirm the correct switch or lever before operating it.