Landing / Ground Loss of Control · NTSB CEN10FA164
MAULE M-5-235C — Lewisville, TX
| Date | March 18, 2010 |
| Location | Lewisville, TX |
| Aircraft | MAULE M-5-235C |
| Purpose of flight | Personal |
| Conditions | Day · Visual Meteorological Cond |
| Phase / occurrence | Landing-flare/touchdown Nose over/nose down |
| Pilot age | 54 |
| Pilot total time | 12,000 hrs · High time |
| Time in type | 75 hrs |
| Fatalities | 1, 1 serious |
Probable cause
NTSB findings
- Personnel issues-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Use of checklist-Pilot - C
- Personnel issues-Action/decision-Action-Forgotten action/omission-Pilot - C
What happened
Following a short cross-country flight, the pilot performed a water landing with the amphibious float-equipped airplane. During touchdown, the airplane nosed over and came to rest inverted, partially submerged in water. A postaccident examination of the wreckage revealed that the pilot had landed with the landing gear in the extended position. The examination also revealed that the floats were equipped with four visual landing gear position indicators, all of which indicated that the landing gear was in the extended position. According to a “Before Landing On Water” checklist for the amphibious floats, the landing gear position (retracted) was to be confirmed visually before landing. No preimpact anomalies were identified during the examination that would have precluded the airplane from operating normally.