iPad causes gear-up Landing According to Pilot

There is a little more to this story than an iPad blocking the gear lever... read the pilots statement here... https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=98998

Relatively low time pilot, with very little time in type. He had always trained to do a GUMPS checklist in his fixed gear trainer, and his flow was to tap the throttle with a finger to simulate gear down at the U. On this flight, he was overwhelmed with tasks, and he basically forgot that he was flying an RG. He did the checklist, but he tapped the throttle as he would have in a fixed gear. He left the gear up and then did not recognize the gear warning horn.

The iPad just makes for a good headline, it isn’t the real cause of the incident. The pilot statement is very detailed, and he only mentions the iPad as one link in the chain.
 
Digging deeper into the chain of events... Accidents like this are the reason that I don't teach GUMPS in a fixed gear/non-complex airplane. This pilot was doing a "GUMPPCCS" checklist, and ignoring most of it, just as he was trained.

Here's how you'd perform a GUMPPCCS checklist in a 172...
G - Gas - ignore, it's always on both
U - Undercarriage - ignore, it's always down
M - Mixture - set for landing
P - Prop - ignore
P - Pumps (fuel) - ignore, not used
C - Carb Heat - Set when appropriate
C- Cowl Flaps - ignore, not installed
S- Seat Belt - ignore, always on

Pilot was basically trained to go through the motions and ignore half the checklist, so when he got to the real-deal he did exactly as he was trained to do.

Fly the airplane that you're flying. Don't train yourself to ignore checklist items.
 
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Never rush a landing. And no one needs their iPad once established on final...
 
Thunderbird83 said:
Pilot was basically trained to go through the motions and ignore half the checklist, so when he got to the real-deal he did exactly as he was trained to do.

Fly the airplane that you're flying. Don't train yourself to ignore checklist items.
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But you CAN learn to use a GUMPS check in an airplane that doesn’t require you to do half of the stuff without actually ignoring those checklist items. Obviously tapping the throttle with your finger isn’t addressing gear in any way, but you can still LOOK at a couple of wheels in a Cessna 150.

one of the objects of the GUMPS check is that it’s usable across a wide variety of aircraft, and allows you to protect yourself with the same habit pattern across a variety of aircraft.

But I agree with you, negative training is bad. ;)
 
flyingron said:
There's at least one youtube video of someone flying down to the runway with the gear horn beeping all through it.
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Well this one has a pilot, an instructor, and a passenger shooting video all the way to the pavement (literally) while the horn is screaming (I don't see an iPad though):


 
Same thing could happen(and probably has) with a mounted clipboard and paper charts/approach plates. It's pretty much what I've always been told was the common gear up scenario- something goes wrong and the pilot makes a rushed or abnormal landing without running through the checklist properly.

As far as the idea of putting the device away goes, a lot of us have mounts and charge cables that would be distracting to undo during an approach. Also if you're using it for your approach plate you probably want to keep that visible... I certainly do.
 
flyingron said:
There's at least one youtube video of someone flying down to the runway with the gear horn beeping all through it.
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more than one CFIT Iin VMC has the CVR recording TERRAIN PULL UP PULL UP.

When the pilot is determined to ignore input...
 
catmandu said:
"What is that god-awful noise blaring at me? I can barely concentrate on my flare."
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years ago I remember a video of cfi checkride with the DPE and an FAA inspector onboard. The video had the gear warning horn blaring all the way to the ground and the resulting oh crap moment too.
 
cowman said:
Same thing could happen(and probably has) with a mounted clipboard and paper charts/approach plates. It's pretty much what I've always been told was the common gear up scenario- something goes wrong and the pilot makes a rushed or abnormal landing without running through the checklist properly.

As far as the idea of putting the device away goes, a lot of us have mounts and charge cables that would be distracting to undo during an approach. Also if you're using it for your approach plate you probably want to keep that visible... I certainly do.
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The 3 stooges are alive and well!
 
NordicDave said:
@Thunderbird83 is right... How hard is it to use a f***ing checklist. Every time every landing. Goes 2x with an abnormality going on.

Use or make a nice little checklist by phase of flight. Not hard.
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I agree, and that is my goal and my mantra. Even on my Sky Arrow that only has 3 items in its pre-landing checklist.

And yet, more than once after landing I’ve reached up to turn off my boost pump - a checklist item - only to realize I somehow never turned it on. Most often, it’s due to a non-sterile cockpit, chatting with a passenger or other distraction. Best laid plans, and all that - good thing it wasn’t the gear I forgot! All I’m trying to say is, as long as pilots are human they’ll continue to make mistakes every once in a while. And as such, I try not to be too judgmental.
 
Daleandee said:
Well this one has a pilot, an instructor, and a passenger shooting video all the way to the pavement (literally) while the horn is screaming (I don't see an iPad though):


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This video is always posted as an example of pilot stupidity. Since I don't speak French, I've wondered if all aboard knew the gear wasn't down because it had malfunctioned, and thus the rather calm reaction to grinding metal on asphalt.
 
3393RP said:
This video is always posted as an example of pilot stupidity. Since I don't speak French, I've wondered if all aboard knew the gear wasn't down because it had malfunctioned, and thus the rather calm reaction to grinding metal on asphalt.
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I would think you would cut the engine and try to save the prop/engine.
Also if I tried that steep of an approach in my J with the gear up I would float forever.
 
MooneyDriver78 said:
I would think you would cut the engine and try to save the prop/engine.
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Not me. A gear up landing almost always has a safe outcome, and introducing the possibility of a loss of control by stopping the engine overrides any concern I might have about "sav[ing]" the propeller and engine.

How many pilots have any experience with the procedure? It requires slowing the aircraft to the point of a stall by increasing AoA. If the propeller isn't horizontal when it stops, more monkeying around is required. If the aircraft is a twin, the danger is compounded.

All of this for what? Even if the propeller is stopped, the cost of repair still might exceed the hull value. Insurance will cover the loss, unless the owner is self insured, and that's the risk one takes when doing so.

Intentionally introducing the possibility of LOC isn't a maneuver I'm interested in performing.
 
3393RP said:
Not me. A gear up landing almost always has a safe outcome, and introducing the possibility of a loss of control by stopping the engine overrides any concern I might have about "sav[ing]" the propeller and engine.

How many pilots have any experience with the procedure? It requires slowing the aircraft to the point of a stall by increasing AoA. If the propeller isn't horizontal when it stops, more monkeying around is required. If the aircraft is a twin, the danger is compounded.

All of this for what? Even if the propeller is stopped, the cost of repair still might exceed the hull value. Insurance will cover the loss, unless the owner is self insured, and that's the risk one takes when doing so.

Intentionally introducing the possibility of LOC isn't a maneuver I'm interested in performing.
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I agree with you, airplanes are cheap compared to lives.
 
3393RP said:
A gear up landing almost always has a safe outcome, and introducing the possibility of a loss of control by stopping the engine overrides any concern I might have about "sav[ing]" the propeller and engine.
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I was in a friends plane when he had a gear issue but he got it down using the emergency dump procedure.

The one thing I learned then about retractable gear airplanes is that when the gear don't come down, the insurance company owns it ... :D
 
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