Culpeper Regional Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Culpeper, Virginia 22718
Monday, February 6, 2012 18:16 EST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

While approaching the destination airport, the pilot did not observe the green landing gear down-and-locked light illuminate when she moved the landing gear handle to the "down" position. She manipulated the handle several times and still did not observe the green light. The pilot stated that after she tried to manually extend the landing gear, the nose landing gear appeared to be extended in the viewing mirror, and she heard a "whistling" sound consistent with gear extension; however, the green down-and-locked light in the cockpit was not illuminated. The pilot continued to the airport to land. She reported that she heard the gear warning horn during the landing flare, but that it was "too late" to abort the landing, and the landing gear collapsed upon touchdown. After the accident, the landing gear was cycled and operated normally, although the gear down-and-locked light did not appear to be illuminated. However, the airplane’s navigation lights were observed to be in the “on” position. By design, the gear down-and-locked light illuminated more dimly with the navigation lights on (nighttime use) than with the navigation lights off (daytime use). When the emergency landing gear extension procedure was performed after the airplane’s navigation lights were turned off, the gear extended and locked down, and the corresponding gear down-and-locked light was visibly illuminated. The emergency checklist that the pilot used during the accident flight did not instruct the pilot to confirm the position of the navigation lights, and the pilot stated that she did not consult the pilot's operating handbook (POH) during the flight. If the pilot had reviewed the emergency gear extension checklist in the POH or if the checklist she used had included a check of the navigation lights, the pilot may have been better able to determine the position of the landing gear before touchdown.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's failure to use the manufacturer's checklist to troubleshoot the perceived malfunction and thereby ensure the position of the landing gear before landing. The reason the landing gear were not down and locked could not be determined, as no mechanical failures or anomalies were reported before the accident or observed during postaccident testing.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 2/6/2012
Event Day of the Week Monday
Time of Event 1816
Event Time Zone Eastern Standard Time
Event City Culpeper
Event State VIRGINIA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 22718
Event Date Year 2012
Event Date Month 2
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 383132N
Event Location Longitude 0775135W
Event Location Airport Culpeper Regional
Event Location Nearest Airport ID CJR
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 --
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1815 Eastern Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) --
Weather Observation Facility ID CJR
Elevation of weather observation facility 316
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 0
Time Zone of the weather observation EST
Lighting Conditions Dusk
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) 5
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 0
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) --
Variable Wind Indicator --
Wind Speed (knots) --
Wind Velocity Indicator Calm
Wind Gust Indicator --
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.1
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 3
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 30581
NTSB Notification Source FAA Eastern Region ROC
NTSB Notification Date --
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information --
Date of most recent change to record Oct 10 2012 2:51PM
User who most recently changed record kenj
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N1WE
NTSB Number ERA12LA188
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? --
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name PIPER
Aircraft Model PA-30
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 30-1193
Certified Max Gross Weight 3725
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class --
Aircraft is a homebuilt? No
Flight Crew Seats --
Cabin Crew Seats --
Passenger Seats --
Total number of seats on the aircraft 4
Number of Engines 2
Fixed gear or retractable gear Retractable
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Jul 22 2011 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours 4128
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type Unknown
Aircraft Owner Name RIDLEY LOUIS CHARLES JR
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City WARRENTON
Aircraft Owner State VA
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 20187-9203
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name RIDLEY LOUIS CHARLES JR
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address --
Operator City WARRENTON
Operator State VA
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 20187-9203
Operator Code --
Owner has at least one certificate None
Other Operator of large aircraft? No
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 No
Departure Airport Code HGR
Departure City Hagerstown
Departure State MD
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1710
Departure Time Zone EST
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code CJR
Destination City Culpeper
Destination State VA
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight --
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Oct 10 2012 2:51PM
User who most recently changed record kenj
Since inspection or accident Last Inspection
Event Location Runway Number and Location 22
Runway Length 5000
Runway Width 100
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --