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Instructor pilot conducting biennial flight review in a C172RG reports inability to extend nose gear by either normal or manual methods. A decision to land with all gear up in the grass adjacent to the runway was made; resulting in minimal damage.
| Attributes | |
| ACN | 859121 |
| Time | |
| Date | 200910 |
| Local Time Of Day | 0001-0600 |
| Place | |
| Locale Reference | ZZZ.Airport |
| State Reference | US |
| Environment | |
| Flight Conditions | VMC |
| Light | Daylight |
| Aircraft 1 | |
| Make Model Name | Skyhawk 172/Cutlass 172 |
| Operating Under FAR Part | Part 91 |
| Flight Phase | Initial Approach |
| Flight Plan | None |
| Component | |
| Aircraft Component | Nose Gear |
| Person 1 | |
| Function | Instructor Pilot Not Flying |
| Qualification | Flight Crew Commercial Flight Crew Flight Instructor Flight Crew Multiengine Flight Crew Instrument |
| Experience | Flight Crew Last 90 Days 115 Flight Crew Total 3260 Flight Crew Type 2500 |
| Events | |
| Anomaly | Aircraft Equipment Problem Critical |
Narrative:
During a biennial flight review; the non-current private pilot was demonstrating landing proficiency. Upon entering the base leg to runway 36 he lowered the landing gear handle initiating gear extension. The main gear extended but the red; nose-gear-up indicator was still lighted. He aborted the landing and I asked the tower controller to examine the status of the nose gear. Tower could not see the nose gear extended. We made one more pass to verify the position of the nose gear and tower replied it was not extended. We then exited the pattern to troubleshoot the problem. We recycled the gear several times without success. Then we attempted the emergency gear extension procedure with the same outcome. By this time we were closer to ZZZ and elected to continue more gear extension attempts above that airport. After exhausting all means to extend the nose gear we elected to retract the main gear and land the airplane in the grass adjacent to the runway. I took over the controls and instructed the owner-pilot to tighten his seat belt/shoulder harness; open his door; and turn the master switch off after I leaned the mixture to idle/cut-off. The flaps were full and airspeed was held in the white arc during the flare. We touched down and slid approximately 150 ft. We then exited the aircraft. No injuries; minimal damage. I would have to investigate a re-design for the nose wheel doors in order to offer an intelligent solution to prevent a repeat of this type of occurrence. I believe my actions were the best solution for the predicament. Factors affecting the quality of human performance are: 1. Confidence; 2. Continuous emergency practice (obtained through over 1500 hours of flight instruction given). Inaction may have resulted in a forced landing at an undesirable location.
Original NASA ASRS Text
Title: Instructor pilot conducting biennial flight review in a C172RG reports inability to extend nose gear by either normal or manual methods. A decision to land with all gear up in the grass adjacent to the runway was made; resulting in minimal damage.
Narrative: During a biennial flight review; the non-current private pilot was demonstrating landing proficiency. Upon entering the base leg to Runway 36 he lowered the landing gear handle initiating gear extension. The main gear extended but the red; nose-gear-up indicator was still lighted. He aborted the landing and I asked the Tower Controller to examine the status of the nose gear. Tower could not see the nose gear extended. We made one more pass to verify the position of the nose gear and Tower replied it was not extended. We then exited the pattern to troubleshoot the problem. We recycled the gear several times without success. Then we attempted the emergency gear extension procedure with the same outcome. By this time we were closer to ZZZ and elected to continue more gear extension attempts above that airport. After exhausting all means to extend the nose gear we elected to retract the main gear and land the airplane in the grass adjacent to the runway. I took over the controls and instructed the owner-pilot to tighten his seat belt/shoulder harness; open his door; and turn the master switch off after I leaned the mixture to idle/cut-off. The flaps were full and airspeed was held in the white arc during the flare. We touched down and slid approximately 150 FT. We then exited the aircraft. No injuries; minimal damage. I would have to investigate a re-design for the nose wheel doors in order to offer an intelligent solution to prevent a repeat of this type of occurrence. I believe my actions were the best solution for the predicament. Factors affecting the quality of human performance are: 1. confidence; 2. continuous emergency practice (obtained through over 1500 hours of flight instruction given). Inaction may have resulted in a forced landing at an undesirable location.
Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of April 2012 and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.