N722CFPiper PA-31-310 · 1973

On December 3, 2017, about 1910 eastern standard time, a Piper PA-31-310, N722CF, was damaged during a wheels-up landing on runway 18 at the Clark Regional Airport (JVY), Jeffersonville, Indiana. The pilot and two passengers were not injured. The airplane received substantial damage to fuselage longerons and the aft flange of the main wing spar carry through. The aircraft was registered to Luftladder Inc. and operated by the pilot under the provisions of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as a personal flight. Visual meteorological conditions existed at the time of the accident. A visual flight rules flight plan had been filed. The flight originated from the Wellsville Municipal Airport (ELZ), near Wellsville, New York, about 1630, with JVY as the intended destination.

The pilot reported that when the airplane was about 5 miles from JVY, he lowered the landing gear and the right main landing gear was slow to extend, but within a few seconds all three gear down indicator lights illuminated. A normal descent was made and when the airplane was over the runway about to flare, the right main landing gear light went out. The pilot initiated a go-around, increasing engine power, pitching for climb, and retracting the landing gear and flaps. He stated that the airplane may have settled after the flaps were retracted and he heard a noise as if a propeller blade had contacted something. He decided to discontinue the go-around and landed the airplane straight ahead, coming to a stop on the runway with the landing gear retracted.

After the accident the airplane landing gear was tested under the supervision of Federal Aviation Administration inspectors. Before the test, an o-ring was replaced on the hydraulic reservoir, but this would not have prevented the right main landing gear from extending. The gear retraction tests were performed satisfactorily, with no defects in the landing gear operation noted.