AEROSTAR 600 PLT DAMAGES PROP TIPS ON GAR FROM GEAR UP APCH.

Date: 2004-01 · Aircraft: PA-60 600 Aerostar

Anomalies: deviation-discrepancy-procedural-published-material-policy|ground-event-encounter-other-unknown

Synopsis

AEROSTAR 600 PLT DAMAGES PROP TIPS ON GAR FROM GEAR UP APCH.

Narrative

AWOS RPTED SURFACE WIND AT 260-270 DEGS AT 33 KTS GUSTING TO 39-41 KTS. CONSIDERED LNDG LBB WITH NO XWIND COMPONENT; BUT ELECTED TO CONTINUE TO HOME BASE AS THE XWIND COMPONENT WAS WELL BELOW THAT FOR MANY PREVIOUS LNDGS IN THIS ACFT. WIND GUSTS WOULD REQUIRE ATTENTIVE TECHNIQUE AND MY FOCUS WAS PRIMARILY ON THIS FACTOR. IN ORDER TO ACCOMMODATE THE EXPECTED TIME OF HANGAR OPENING; DELAYED DSCNT AND SLOWED ACFT IN LAST 20 MINS OF FLT; EXTENDED DOWNWIND LEG TO A 4 MI HIGH FINAL; AT WHICH TIME I DEPLOYED FLAPS FROM DOWNWIND-ESTABLISHED SETTING OF 20-30 DEGS -- SOMETHING I NEVER DO WITHOUT FIRST DROPPING LNDG GEAR. MY ENTIRE FOCUS WAS UPON LNDG TECHNIQUE; CARRYING HIGHER PWR SETTING THAN USUAL ON APCH; WHICH PREVENTED OP OF GEAR-UP ALARM UNTIL PWR WAS REDUCED FOR LNDG ABOUT 10 FT OVER RWY. AT THIS HT; GEAR-UP ALARM SOUNDED AND GAR WAS EXECUTED IMMEDIATELY. UNEVENTFUL GEAR DOWN LNDG THEN EXECUTED. ON ENG SHUTDOWN IN HANGAR; SYMMETRIC BI-LATERAL PROP TIP DAMAGE NOTED. NOISE-CANCELING HEADSET HAD PRECLUDED PLT AWARENESS OF RWY PROP TIP CONTACT DURING GAR. MY LESSON HAS BEEN THAT THE EMPLOYMENT OF THE WRITTEN CHKLIST IN ALL PHASES OF FLT IN BOTH FAMILIAR AND UNFAMILIAR ACFT IS MANDATORY.

Source: NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System (public domain). Reports are voluntary submissions and are not verified by NASA.