A PVT PLT AND 2 INSTRUCTORS ONBOARD A PA28 HAVE THE LNDG GEAR RETRACT PREMATURELY DURING A TKOF AND THE ACFT SETTLES BACK DOWN ON THE RWY WITH SOME DAMAGE. LNDG GEAR EXTENDED USING THE AUTOMATIC EXTENSION FEATURE; HOWEVER; THIS FEATURE WILL NOT PROTECT THE ACFT DURING TKOF.

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MAY/THU/97; I (A PVT PLT) WAS ACCOMPANYING AN INSTRUCTOR (CFI #1) TO PRACTICE ILS APCHS AT RDU. I WAS TO PROVIDE VISUAL HELP OUTSIDE THE ACFT. I WAS IN THE L SEAT; CFI #1 IN THE R SEAT AND ANOTHER INSTRUCTOR (CFI #2) WHO WAS MY FLT INSTRUCTOR IN THE REAR. ATC APPROVED RWY 1 ILS APCH FOR US BECAUSE OF COMMERCIAL TFC. WE DECIDED NOT TO PROCEED TO RDU AND DECIDED TO GO TO JOHNSTON COUNTY ARPT WHERE CFI #1 INSTRUCTED ME IN MY FIRST LNDG IN A 200 HP RETRACTABLE LNDG GEAR PLANE. AFTER 2 LNDGS WE PROCEEDED BACK TO FRANKLIN COUNTY. ON DOWNWIND CFI #1 PULLED PWR SIMULATING ENG FAILURE AND I TRIMMED FOR BEST GLIDE SPD. JUST BEFORE TURNING TO BASE A HORN SOUNDED AND NOT BEING FAMILIAR WITH THE ACFT; ASKED WHY THE HORN WAS SOUNDING. CFI #1 AND CFI #2 WERE CHKING TO SEE WHAT THE PROB WAS. I TURNED BASE TO FINAL AND SAID I WAS GOING TO BE SHORT ON LNDG. CFI #1 AGREED AND I ADDED PWR AND I SAID THAT THE HORN HAD DISTRACTED ME. CFI #1; CFI #2; AND MYSELF SAW 3 IN THE GREEN AND WERE ASSURED IT WAS SAFE TO LAND AND I LANDED AND ROLLED TO A FULL STOP. A TKOF WITH CFI #1 AT THE CTLS WAS BEGUN AND DURING TKOF ROLL R LNDG GEAR THEN NOSEGEAR COLLAPSED. THE PLANE SLID DOWN THE RWY AND INTO THE GRASS MEDIAN BTWN THE RWY AND TXWY WITH NO INJURIES. LET ME ADD; THAT DURING OTHER FLTS THAT I HAVE FLOWN WITH CFI #1 AND DURING MY FLT TRAINING WITH CFI #2 AS MY INSTRUCTOR THAT BOTH ARE VERY KNOWLEDGEABLE; THOROUGH AND PROFESSIONAL PLTS AND CFI'S AND THEY PERFORMED FROM THE TIME THE HORN STARTED WHAT I THOUGHT WAS A GOOD JOB IN TRYING TO FIND OUT WHY THE HORN WAS SOUNDING. SUPPLEMENTAL INFO FROM ACN 368688: PREMATURE AUTOMATIC LNDG GEAR RETRACTION DURING TKOF; JUST PRIOR TO FULL ROTATION. BOTH THE GEAR HANDLE AND THE AUTOMATIC GEAR EXTENDER WERE IN THE 'UP' POS; ALLOWING THE GEAR TO RETRACT ONCE THE SQUAT SWITCH WAS RELIEVED OF ACFT WT DURING THE ATTEMPTED TKOF. CONTRIBUTING FACTORS: LACK OF A 'STERILE COCKPIT' DURING THE SIMULATED ENG-OUT EMER LNDG OCCURRING JUST BEFORE SAID TKOF. '3 IN THE GREEN' WAS VERIFIED PRIOR TO LNDG; BUT CONFIGN OF THE GEAR HANDLE AND AUTO-EXTENDER POS WAS NOT PROPERLY VERIFIED DUE TO DISTR DURING THE LNDG SEQUENCE. A GAR WAS NOT INITIATED TO ANALYZE THE REASON FOR A GEAR WARNING HORN ON LNDG. HORN WAS ATTRIBUTED TO A MECHANICAL GLITCH; LNDG WAS UNEVENTFUL. THE SUBSEQUENT TKOF WAS WHEN THE PROB BECAME EVIDENT. TOO MANY PEOPLE TALKING AT ONCE (THERE WERE 3 SOULS ONBOARD; 2 CFI'S; AND 1 PVT PLT) RESULTED IN A LACK OF SITUATIONAL AWARENESS WHICH RESULTED IN THE PREVIOUSLY DESCRIBED SCENARIO. TKOF WAS ABORTED; NOSE AND MAIN WHEELS RETRACTED; PROP STRUCK RWY; PLANE VEERED OFF RWY; COMING TO REST IN GRASS MEDIAN BTWN RWY AND TXWY.