What happened
On March 2, 2000, at approximately 17:00 local time, a Piper PA-27, registration EC-AZV, was performing a landing at Sabadell Airport in Barcelona. The aircraft, operated for private pleasure, had been conducting several takeoffs and landings prior to the incident.
During the approach to runway 13, the pilot performed all necessary pre-landing checks, including power reduction, mixture adjustment, and flap configuration. The pilot confirmed that the landing gear indicators showed the gear was down and visually verified the extension of the nose gear via the left engine mirror.
Upon touchdown, the aircraft initially made contact with the main landing gear as intended. However, as the pilot decelerated and began lowering the nose, the nose gear retracted. The pilot attempted to use the control column to maintain nose pitch to prevent impact, but the nose and both propellers eventually struck the runway. The aircraft then veered left, exiting the runway and coming to a stop in the safety area. The accident resulted in substantial damage to the nose, landing gear, propellers, and engines, though the pilot remained uninjured.
The investigation
Following the accident, the aircraft was moved to a maintenance facility for a thorough examination of the landing gear system. Investigators conducted various tests and inspections to identify any mechanical or hydraulic failures. The investigation established that the landing gear system was fully functional, with no evidence of mechanical malfunction or system failure found during the post-accident inspections.
Findings
- The investigation concluded that the landing gear system was in satisfactory working order.
- The primary cause of the accident was pilot error, specifically the inadvertent operation of the landing gear lever. It is determined that after touchdown, the pilot intended to retract the flaps but instead moved the landing gear lever to the up position, triggering the retraction sequence of the nose gear.