What happens when you hotdog a Baron on Take off!

I think you're right. In my shopping, I've seen many (relatively, anyway) stories where the gear was inadvertently retracted because many pilots aren't used to where the flaps are in the Baron and hit the gear instead.

As for this guy...if it wasn't actually his fault, I feel for him. If he was, in fact, "hot dogging", then he's obviously not very bright or has a bloated sense of what his abilities are as an aviator. Or both. I'm sure the FAA will love explaining the error of his ways.

 

Turbulence aft of the landing gear that is changing as the gear retracts thus disturbing the flow and energy of the " cushion". On top of that there is oscillations of pitch induced by the pilot and variations of the air itself near the ground. With only three or four feet clearance things happen too quick to catch.

 

You're one of the best aviation resources out there Bob - among many others like
yourself here. I've learned a TON of things in this sub-forum over the years.

Jedi

 

Large aircraft are not immune to the effects of gear retraction. On the 747-400, the drag caused by the gear doors opening is significant.

During a windshear or GPWS (ground contact imminent) event, during the go around, we leave the landing gear down due to the drag of the gear doors opening. Once stabilized flight is achieved, the gear is retracted.

 

A Baron looks great - even if you wait until 100 feet agl or so before raising the landing gear.

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XoFwyO195Wc[/ame]

 

Most squat switches on light aircraft are mounted on the nose gear and not on the mains. In most tricycle aircraft, the nose gear is fully extened well before the airplane is ready to fly, and if the handle is moved from the locked position, since the nose gear is fully extended, the gear will unloock or even retract.

I've seen this happen a couple of times, where the gear handle wasn't in the down and locked position, when the pilot rotated the nose up the gear folded up and the end result is what is shown in the original pic.

Similar thing could have happened to the hot dogger in the first post. Even though he had a decent amount of airspeed, if you don't have the nose pointed up and get some angle of attack, the airplane is still going to have weight on the mains. If you pull the handle, and try to rotate the airplane it still isn't going to fly since you don't have enough angle of attack to get enough lift. Bottom line is what's shown above...

 

Great answer! This high speed low proximity to the ground reminds me of the grounding effect that can happen to large ships that move too fast when the hulls are too close to the bottom. It's called hull squat and it is caused by a venturi type of action between the hull and earth. It sucks the ship down, stops it, and causes great embarrassment to the captain

 

I think a serious look-see is in order after a prop strike but I'm thinking they ran the engines, they sounded okay, and just punted. Hopefully flew immediately to a place where some real work could be done.

 

I find it hard to believe that an aircraft doesn't lose its airworthiness certificate after a crash. The FAA doesn't require some sort of formal documented inspection (e.g., at the minimum a new annual) after an event like this? I'm shocked.

 

You are almost certainly right. I suspect that the owner chose to "wing it" to a place that could do it.

 

The airplane has to be inspected, determined to be airworthy, and signed off as such by a certificated mechanic. This is after any repairs, which also have to be documented and signed off. The engine manufacturer presumably has an inspection checklist for sudden stoppage events, and that would have to be complied with.

If it departed on a ferry permit, it only needs to be signed off as airworthy for the proposed trip, along with whatever restrictions the FAA chooses to put on it for that trip (gear down, for instance, and typically VFR only and no passengers).

Any time just about anything is done to an airplane, it has to be signed off as "airworthy and returned to service."

 

On a 421? Ouch! I'm amazed that didn't cause serious problems to the gearboxes.

 

If you don't have 90 kts, you shouldn't rotate in a Baron. Apparently this guy rotated too early, immediately tried to retract the gear, and when the gear started to come up, he lost speed and lift and that is the end result.

The repair bill will be a lot more than 80k. The props need to be replaced, that's 30k. The motors will need to be torn apart, and if Continental's service bulletins are followed, the crankshaft in each engine will need to be replaced. I'd estimate the cost for each engine, including the labor to remove and replace them at 25k each. Then, you've got the body work. Gear doors are several k each. Yo don't want the various panels repaired, you want them replaced, another 20k in parts and labor. In short, look at least 100k, maybe more.

And now the plane is worth at least 10% less because of it's damage history. Stupid mistake. Costly one too.

Art