Kutztown Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Kutztown, Pennsylvania 19530
Tuesady, November 25, 2003 16:00 EST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

During the rollout after landing, the pilot turned off the landing lights, turned off the fuel pump, and after raising the flaps, the landing gear retracted and the airplane settled on to the ground. The pilot did not recall if he raised the landing gear selector lever, and did not check its position after the accident. After the accident, the pilot had the airplane removed from the runway and placed into a hangar, where it was discovered about 3 months later by a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector conducting routine surveillance at the airport.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's inadvertent retraction of the landing gear on the ground.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 11/25/2003
Event Day of the Week Tuesday
Time of Event 1600
Event Time Zone Eastern Standard Time
Event City Kutztown
Event State PENNSYLVANIA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 19530
Event Date Year 2003
Event Date Month 11
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 403012N
Event Location Longitude 0754713W
Event Location Airport Kutztown Airport
Event Location Nearest Airport ID N31
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport On Airport
Distance from airport in statute miles --
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation 500
Weather Briefing Completeness Unknown
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1554 Eastern Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) --
Weather Observation Facility ID RDG
Elevation of weather observation facility 344
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) --
Time Zone of the weather observation EST
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height --
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height --
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Clear
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling None
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 4
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) -4
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 300
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 6
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.15
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury None
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None 1
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 17216
NTSB Notification Source Allentown FSDO
NTSB Notification Date Mar 11 2004 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 900
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Jan 27 2005 3:52PM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\JOHB
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office Allentown, PA

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N5406P
NTSB Number NYC04LA086
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? No
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Piper
Aircraft Model PA-24-250
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 24-460
Certified Max Gross Weight 2800
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class U.S. Registered/U.S. Soil
Aircraft is a homebuilt? No
Flight Crew Seats --
Cabin Crew Seats --
Passenger Seats --
Total number of seats on the aircraft 4
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Retractable
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Dec 17 2002 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 6
Airframe Hours 4261
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Transportation Skills Programs Inc.
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City Kutztown
Aircraft Owner State PA
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 19530
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name --
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address --
Operator City --
Operator State --
Operator Country --
Operator Zip code --
Operator Code --
Owner has at least one certificate None
Other Operator of large aircraft? --
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation --
Operator Certificate Number --
Indicates whether an air carrier operation was scheduled or not --
Indicates Domestic or International Flight --
Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail --
Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) Personal
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event Yes
Departure Airport Code N31
Departure City Kutztown
Departure State PA
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1530
Departure Time Zone EST
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code N31
Destination City --
Destination State --
Destination Country --
Specific Phase of Flight Landing - flare/touchdown
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record --
User who most recently changed record --
Since inspection or accident Last Inspection
Event Location Runway Number and Location 35
Runway Length 2485
Runway Width 50
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --