Piper PA-44-180 accident near Gila Bend, Arizona, February 27, 2008
On February 27, 2008, a Piper PA-44-180, registered N318PA, was substantially damaged in an accident during landing (landing roll) near Gila Bend, Arizona (Gila Bend Muni airport). It was an instructional flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The flight crew's inadvertent retraction of the landing gear during the landing roll, and the flight instructor's inadequate supervision of the flight.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- February 27, 2008
- Place
- Gila Bend, Arizona · Gila Bend Muni · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-44-180 · all PA-44-180s on the register
- Registration
- N318PA · registry record · serial 4496134
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
Prior to landing, the student and the certified flight instructor (CFI) had both confirmed that the landing gear down indicator lights were illuminated, and visually confirmed the nose gear was extended by use of an airframe mirror. The pilots indicated that after touchdown the right wing started to drop, and the CFI took the controls, but the airplane veered off of the runway. Before the pilots left the airplane, they both saw the landing gear activation switch in the retracted position. During the recovery of the airplane, the landing gear was extended, retracted, and then extended again. No damage to the landing gear locking mechanism was found. The safety officer of the flight academy interviewed the flight crew and the recovery personnel. After the interviews, it was determined that during the landing roll, one of the crewmembers inadvertently placed the landing gear selector in the "up" position.
The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
What happened, in order
- Landing gear not configured during landing (landing roll) defining event
The NTSB's findings
- cause Personnel issues › Action/decision › Action › Incorrect action performance › Flight crew
- cause Personnel issues › Psychological › Attention/monitoring › Task monitoring/vigilance › Pilot
Dual student
- Certificate: private
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 285 hours in all; 120 in this make and model; 25 in the last 90 days; 10 in the last 30 days; 146 as pilot in command
- Last flight review: October 1, 2007
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (with waivers/limitations)
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
Flight instructor
- Certificate: flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 1,182 hours in all; 241 in this make and model; 211 in the last 90 days; 63 in the last 30 days; 1,051 as pilot in command; 826 on instruments
- Last flight review: October 1, 2007
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (without waivers/limitations)
- Seat: rgt
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 4,244 hours
- Last inspection: approved inspection programme, February 1, 2008; 13.6 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,816 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine 1: Lycoming O-360-A1H6 (piston); 0 hours total
- Engine 2: Lycoming LO-360-A1H6 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: DVT Phoenix AZ at 11:00 pm
- Destination: Gila Bend AZ
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 4, 5,200 ft by 75 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 350° at 2 knots
- Visibility: 20 statute miles
- Sky: scat
- Temperature: 66°F (19°C), dew point 34°F (1°C)
- Altimeter: 30.10 inHg
- Observation at 11:55 pm from GBN, 6 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flight crew | 2 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), has not been read from the NTSB for this case yet; the list appears here once it has. Open the docket at the NTSB.
Everything on this page comes from the NTSB's public records. The narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words; the coded tables behind the report are written out in plain English, with pilots' ages, home towns and medical details left out. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, shown as the NTSB released them. This site's own text never names anyone involved. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.