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A PA-44 instructor and student were distracted by a feathered engine in which the propeller would not unfeather. They landed gear-up following sustained 300-400 FPM descent that required landing at the nearest suitable airport.
| Attributes | |
| ACN | 843047 |
| Time | |
| Date | 200907 |
| Local Time Of Day | 1201-1800 |
| Place | |
| Locale Reference | ZZZ.Airport |
| State Reference | US |
| Environment | |
| Flight Conditions | VMC |
| Light | Daylight |
| Aircraft 1 | |
| Make Model Name | PA-44 Seminole/Turbo Seminole |
| Operating Under FAR Part | Part 91 |
| Flight Phase | Landing |
| Flight Plan | None |
| Component | |
| Aircraft Component | Propeller Control |
| Person 1 | |
| Function | Instructor Pilot Flying |
| Qualification | Flight Crew Multiengine Flight Crew Instrument Flight Crew Flight Instructor Flight Crew Commercial |
| Experience | Flight Crew Last 90 Days 99.3 Flight Crew Total 577.1 Flight Crew Type 141.2 |
| Person 2 | |
| Function | Pilot Not Flying Trainee |
| Qualification | Flight Crew Instrument Flight Crew Private |
| Experience | Flight Crew Last 90 Days 4.9 Flight Crew Total 285 Flight Crew Type 2.3 |
| Events | |
| Anomaly | Aircraft Equipment Problem Critical Deviation - Procedural Published Material / Policy Ground Event / Encounter Gear Up Landing Ground Excursion Runway |
Narrative:
I was performing engine out procedure with a multi-engine private pilot student. During the maneuver I could not unfeather the left engine prop so I could not restart the left engine. Density altitude was reported at 3100 ft. I started the maneuver at 5000 ft MSL. After numerous attempts to restart failed; I saw we had dropped to 3000 feet MSL and were still losing about 400-500 FPM. I then decided we could not make it back to our departure airport so I opted to make an emergency landing at ZZZ. We were about 5 or 6 miles from ZZZ. My primary focus was on making it to the airport and then landing safely. I decided to save putting the gear down till the last minute because I wanted to make sure we would make the runway. Being focused on getting down safely; I overlooked putting the gear down. No gear horn warning was given. We landed gear up and slid off the side of the runway. We both walked away and nothing was damaged on the ground. The airplane damage I could see was to the right prop and engine; the left was already feathered so no damage was done to it.
Original NASA ASRS Text
Title: A PA-44 instructor and student were distracted by a feathered engine in which the propeller would not unfeather. They landed gear-up following sustained 300-400 FPM descent that required landing at the nearest suitable airport.
Narrative: I was performing engine out procedure with a multi-engine private pilot student. During the maneuver I could not unfeather the left engine prop so I could not restart the left engine. Density altitude was reported at 3100 FT. I started the maneuver at 5000 FT MSL. After numerous attempts to restart failed; I saw we had dropped to 3000 feet MSL and were still losing about 400-500 FPM. I then decided we could not make it back to our departure airport so I opted to make an emergency landing at ZZZ. We were about 5 or 6 miles from ZZZ. My primary focus was on making it to the airport and then landing safely. I decided to save putting the gear down till the last minute because I wanted to make sure we would make the runway. Being focused on getting down safely; I overlooked putting the gear down. No gear horn warning was given. We landed gear up and slid off the side of the runway. We both walked away and nothing was damaged on the ground. The airplane damage I could see was to the right prop and engine; the left was already feathered so no damage was done to it.
Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of April 2012 and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.