Illinois Valley Regional Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Peru, Illinois 61354
Saturday, March 13, 2004 15:30 CST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The airplane was substantially damaged when the dual student inadvertently selected the landing gear lever during landing rollout. The right main gear subsequently collapsed and the airplane departed the right side of the runway. The dual student reported that after landing the instructor asked him to raise the flaps. He stated that he inadvertently selected the gear switch instead of the flap lever. He noted: "The gear switch was not moved to the complete up position before the instructor announced and I realized my error." The right main landing gear collapsed, causing the aircraft to veer to the right and off the side of the runway. The nose gear subsequently collapsed and the aircraft came to rest in the grass adjacent to the runway. During a post-accident inspection, the landing gear system was activated by using the cockpit gear switch and the landing gear retracted and extended as designed. The squat switch was determined to be installed and adjusted in accordance with the manufacturer's requirements. Electrical functionality of the switch was tested and no anomalies were observed.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The inadvertent landing gear retraction by the dual student during the landing roll.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 3/13/2004
Event Day of the Week Saturday
Time of Event 1530
Event Time Zone Central Standard Time
Event City Peru
Event State ILLINOIS
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 61354
Event Date Year 2004
Event Date Month 3
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 412107N
Event Location Longitude 0890911W
Event Location Airport Illinois Valley Regional
Event Location Nearest Airport ID VYS
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport On Airport
Distance from airport in statute miles 0
Degrees magnetic from airport 0
Airport Elevation 654
Weather Briefing Completeness Unknown
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1605 Central Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 0
Weather Observation Facility ID VYS
Elevation of weather observation facility 654
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 0
Time Zone of the weather observation CST
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 8000
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height --
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions --
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling Overcast
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 11
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) -5
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 170
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 18
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 22
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.17
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report METAR KVYS 132205Z AUTO 17018G22KT 10SM OVC080 11/
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 3
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 16051
NTSB Notification Source FAA
NTSB Notification Date Mar 13 2004 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1520
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Sep 1 2004 7:08AM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\MONR
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office FAA-DuPage FSDO

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N15118
NTSB Number CHI04LA087
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-28R-200
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 28R7335023
Certified Max Gross Weight 2650
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 Jul 23 2003 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 1878.3
Airframe Hours 5476
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Illinois Valley Flying Club
Aircraft Owner Street Address P. O. Box 293
Aircraft Owner City Peru
Aircraft Owner State IL
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 61354
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) Instructional
Second Pilot on Board Yes
Departure Point Same as Event Yes
Departure Airport Code VYS
Departure City Peru
Departure State IL
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1400
Departure Time Zone CST
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code --
Destination City --
Destination State --
Destination Country --
Specific Phase of Flight Landing - roll
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record Jul 13 2004 8:04AM
User who most recently changed record SULP
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location 18
Runway Length 6000
Runway Width 100
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --