This February 2010 accident report is provided by the National Transportation Safety Board. Published as an educational tool, it is intended to help pilots learn from the misfortunes of others.
Aircraft: Cessna 172RG. Injuries: None. Location: Lockhart, Texas. Aircraft damage: Substantial.
What reportedly happened: A CFI and pilot receiving instruction took off on an instructional flight. The CFI reported that the landing gear was slow to retract, the radios made “clicking noises,” and “flickered” and began to fail, and the fuel gauges registered near empty, so he assumed control of the airplane.
During the landing approach, he attempted to lower the flaps, but there was no response. He instructed the student pilot to lower the landing gear. According to the CFI there was no warning horn or annunciator light to indicate that the gear was either up or down. He did not say whether he or the student pilot looked outside to see if the landing gear appeared to be down and locked.
The airplane landed with the gear partially extended. It veered off the right side of the runway into the grass. The airplane was later ferried to a repair facility. According to the ferry pilot, he recharged the battery and flew uneventfully to the repair facility. The repair facility reported finding no anomalies with the airplane’s electrical system.
Probable cause: The flight instructor’s failure to use the emergency checklist, and his failure to extend the landing gear manually. Contributing to the accident was the electrical failure/malfunction for reasons undetermined.
For more information: NTSB.gov. NTSB Identification: CEN10LA128
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