Piper PA-34-220T Nose Gear Retraction Incident at Sabadell Airport (EC-EYV)

Incident Overview and Flight Details On September 23, 2001, at 18:15 local time, Piper PA-34-220T aircraft with registration EC-EYV was involved in an incident at Sabadell Airport in Barcelona. The aircraft, a 1982 model with serial number 34-8233109, was operating a private, non-commercial pleasure flight from Ibiza. The flight proceeded normally until the aircraft was authorized to approach runway 31. Two nautical miles from the runway threshold, the pilot deployed the landing gear and confirmed the cabin indicators showed the gear was down and locked. The initial touchdown was normal, but upon the nose gear making contact with the ground, it unexpectedly retracted, causing the forward fuselage to impact the runway. The aircraft slid approximately 150 meters before coming to a stop. The pilot cut the fuel and reported an emergency to the control tower, with fire services responding immediately. Despite the physical retraction of the nose gear, the cabin indicators continued to display the gear as down and locked. All five occupants, including the pilot and four passengers, were uninjured and evacuated the aircraft independently. The incident resulted in damage to the forward fuselage, the nose gear door, and the blades of both propellers. No other damage was reported. The pilot, a 39-year-old Spanish national, held a commercial pilot license with 1,300 total flight hours and 500 hours on the aircraft type. The aircraft was powered by two Continental TSIO-360-KB4 engines and had 5,185 total airframe hours. A 100-hour inspection was completed on September 17, 2001, six days prior to the incident. The aircraft had previously experienced a similar nose gear retraction incident on April 12, 2001, which was attributed to a misadjusted nose gear locking sensor and repaired on August 7, 2001. The maintenance company's post-incident inspection suggested the cause may have been a misadjustment of the gear locking mechanisms. The investigation analyzed several hypotheses, including physical component failure and hydraulic pump activation, both of which were ruled out. The analysis focused on the possibility of a sensor failure that incorrectly indicated the gear was locked, though the source text is incomplete regarding the final conclusion.