"Wrong handle" accidents

This type of accident has a long history. I've had pilots pull the spoiler
instead of the release, retract the gear on downwind after flying all day
with it down and pull the rudder adjustment instead of the release. I've
known several to reach for the red knob on the panel expecting to release
and jettison the canopy instead when they pulled it - yet another 2-33 trap.

There's a cure for all of these - just identify the control you want by
looking at the little pictograms before you put your hand on it. If you
want the landing gear, look at it, identify which position it is in, then
put you hand on it. Once you hand is on the gear handle, look back outside
and actuate it by feel. Finally, re-check that it is positioned correctly.

When I owned a Lark IS28b2 I sometimes used it to transition pilots to
higher performance gliders. A trick that almost always worked was to lower
the gear without the pilot to noticing as we approached the airport. This
was easier with the Lark since there were no gear doors to change the sound.
Almost invariably, the pilot would retract the gear during the pre-landing
checklist.

I would then softly say, "Check gear". the reply was often, "It's down". I
would continue to repeat "Check gear." until the pilot actually looked at
the gear handle which usually brought a burst of profanity from the front
seat. They would accuse me of tricking them to which I would confess - but
added that they then tricked themselves by not actually looking at the gear
position before moving the handle. They got the point.

Another thing you can do is to just spend some time sitting in the cockpit
touching controls. This is manditory for a new glider and can be every
useful if you haven't flown the type in a while.

Bill Daniels

....and these are not limited to just gliders! Power pilots have been
known to pull the mixture off (or "feather" the prop) when they thought
they were reducing the throttle. Or switched to empty tanks. Or
retracted the gear, instead of the flaps.

Years ago, after flying at 11,000 feet for two plus hours into Grand
Canyon (KGCN, elevation 6,609 feet), I made a very nice landing.
Practicing for my (quite distant) ATP check ride, I got the airplane
off of the runway and on to the reverse high speed, across the hold
bars before I reached out to retract the flaps. I grabbed the handle,
said aloud "Flaps - Identify..." and then yanked my hand into the
air...from the GEAR handle. I reached out, grabbed the FLAP handle,
said aloud "Flaps - Identify, UP." Then muttered under my breath how
expensive that could have been. Several years before that, another
pilot in the same plane grabbed the gear handle and the squat switch
did NOT prevent the gear from retracting at zero ground speed.

So a follow on to Bill's fine remarks:
1. TOUCH IT
2. SEE IT
3. SAY IT
4. DO IT.

Saved me a bunch of money. BTW, the aircraft above was a 1963 Beech
S-35 Bonanza, quite a fine ride. Astute power pilots will also note
that the shape of the handles is different: the gear handle is like a
wheel on an arm, the flap handle is a flat, paddle like handle that
looks like, well, a flap. Despite these OBVIOUS differences, mistakes
still happen. So in my Globe Swift, I TOUCH IT, SEE IT, SAY IT. And
hope to one day be as good as the pros are.

After the landing, waiting for other members of our party to arrive, I
noticed I felt fatigued, and attributed it to the vibration in the
Bonanza during the trip out. Surely we were okay and legal, flying all
day below 12,500 feet....

Several years later, after my first altitude chamber "ride," I realized
what mild, insipient oxygen "deprivation" could do to pilot
performance. Not to sound like the "holier than thou" pilots described
in another thread, I quickly invested in a 4-place oxygen pack.

To the other "holier-than-thou" pilots on the other thread, over there
I'll describe the proper attitude the Flight Test Community takes when
approaching accidents like those described, the steps Flight Testers
take when approaching risky tests, and the fact that "dumb mistakes"
happen to pilots with far more time, training and skill than 99% of
those reading (or posting). [Dare I borrow the first stone thrower's
words, "moronic mistake?"].

Thanks Bill. Reviewing the mistakes (and techniques) of others is a
highly underrated form of insurance. As the aviation saying goes:
"Learn from the mistakes of others, you won't live long enough to make
them all yourself."

-Pete

Both posts are very good advice. Wrong lever syndrome
will catch out even the most experienced.
I briefed a very experiencenced instructor who had
flown his own Schemp Hirth gliders. I was at pains
to explain the gotcha in having the two levers for
the undercarriage and airbrakes in close proximity
if the glider was correctly configured for landing,
in other words the u/c was down. I briefed him very
thoroughly to look to check he was going to pull the
right lever for airbrake on approach before he did
it.
Up the launch he went, normal release at the top and
then out popped the airbrakes, followed very rapidly
by them going in again and the wheel disappearing.
My comment on the ground was, GOTCHA, no harm done
but does demonstrate how a change from what an individual
percieves as normal can overcome even the most careful
briefing, although I did not specifically mention checking
the levers by looking after release.
Having the u/c lever on the left has it's advantages
but like all aspects of flying you need to adopt and
stick to the correct procedure. Even though I am very
familuar with my own glider I still LOOK even though
I know that the u/c lever will require effort to pull
while the brakes most definitely do not. I might fly
a glider where that is not the case.

Both posts are very good advice. Wrong lever syndrome
will catch out even the most experienced.
I briefed a very experiencenced instructor who had
flown his own Schemp Hirth gliders. I was at pains
to explain the gotcha in having the two levers for
the undercarriage and airbrakes in close proximity
if the glider was correctly configured for landing,
in other words the u/c was down. I briefed him very
thoroughly to look to check he was going to pull the
right lever for airbrake on approach before he did
it.
Up the launch he went, normal release at the top and
then out popped the airbrakes, followed very rapidly
by them going in again and the wheel disappearing.
My comment on the ground was, GOTCHA, no harm done
but does demonstrate how a change from what an individual
percieves as normal can overcome even the most careful
briefing, although I did not specifically mention checking
the levers by looking after release.
Having the u/c lever on the left has it's advantages
but like all aspects of flying you need to adopt and
stick to the correct procedure. Even though I am very
familuar with my own glider I still LOOK even though
I know that the u/c lever will require effort to pull
while the brakes most definitely do not. I might fly
a glider where that is not the case.

Don Johnstone wrote:

Having the u/c lever on the left has it's advantages
but like all aspects of flying you need to adopt and
stick to the correct procedure. Even though I am very
familuar with my own glider I still LOOK even though
I know that the u/c lever will require effort to pull
while the brakes most definitely do not. I might fly
a glider where that is not the case.

I couldn't agree more.

I've flown an number of hours in both Pegase and ASW-20. I've grabbed
the wrong lever only once in these gliders, but looked because it didn't
feel right before I completed moving it. I've found that the "gear up"
position in these gliders carries its own confirmation because I rest my
wrist on the lever when re-trimming if the wheel is up.

OTOH my first (and I hope, only) gear up landing was in a Discus with
brake and gear levers on opposite sides of the cockpit....



--
martin@ | Martin Gregorie
gregorie. | Essex, UK
org |

how many L-13s have gone long on landing and went through the departure end
fence..
the pilot thinking he is pulling the airbrakes when he has extended the
flaps..
or landed short into the approach end fence..
the pilot thinking he is pushing the spoilers closed..
when instead he has retracted flaps and the spoilers are still wide open..

If you are not getting the performance reaction/change you think you should
be getting..
look at the handle and look at the wing!!!

BT

"Bill Daniels" bildan@comcast-dot-net wrote in message
. ..
This type of accident has a long history. I've had pilots pull the
spoiler instead of the release, retract the gear on downwind after flying
all day with it down and pull the rudder adjustment instead of the
release. I've known several to reach for the red knob on the panel
expecting to release and jettison the canopy instead when they pulled it -
yet another 2-33 trap.

There's a cure for all of these - just identify the control you want by
looking at the little pictograms before you put your hand on it. If you
want the landing gear, look at it, identify which position it is in, then
put you hand on it. Once you hand is on the gear handle, look back
outside and actuate it by feel. Finally, re-check that it is positioned
correctly.

When I owned a Lark IS28b2 I sometimes used it to transition pilots to
higher performance gliders. A trick that almost always worked was to
lower the gear without the pilot to noticing as we approached the airport.
This was easier with the Lark since there were no gear doors to change the
sound. Almost invariably, the pilot would retract the gear during the
pre-landing checklist.

I would then softly say, "Check gear". the reply was often, "It's down".
I would continue to repeat "Check gear." until the pilot actually looked
at the gear handle which usually brought a burst of profanity from the
front seat. They would accuse me of tricking them to which I would
confess - but added that they then tricked themselves by not actually
looking at the gear position before moving the handle. They got the
point.

Another thing you can do is to just spend some time sitting in the cockpit
touching controls. This is manditory for a new glider and can be every
useful if you haven't flown the type in a while.

Bill Daniels

If a landing check list were used, wouldn't these problems be avoided?

No. I pull the brakes after the check.

wrote in message
oups.com...
If a landing check list were used, wouldn't these problems be avoided?

wrote:
If a landing check list were used, wouldn't these problems be avoided?

On the initial ground roll of an aero-tow that went wrong very quickly 2
days ago, a club member released very promptly - so far so good. On the
ASW20, the gear and spoiler handles are literally 2 cm apart and he
raised the gear instead of opening the spoilers. No time for a check
list. Poor ergonomics, IMHO, and can completely understand how it
happened. No damage because of the grass, fortunately.

Tony V.

At 13:24 18 July 2006, Tony Verhulst wrote:
wrote:
If a landing check list were used, wouldn't these
problems be avoided?

On the initial ground roll of an aero-tow that went
wrong very quickly 2
days ago, a club member released very promptly - so
far so good. On the
ASW20, the gear and spoiler handles are literally 2
cm apart and he
raised the gear instead of opening the spoilers. No
time for a check
list. Poor ergonomics, IMHO, and can completely understand
how it
happened. No damage because of the grass, fortunately.

Tony V.

Yes you could say poor ergonomics but this is a well
know GOTCHA to those of us who fly ASW gliders. The
airbrake handle actually hinges out to horizontal so
that it can be hinged outwards and the brakes closed.
If you are on the large size like me the handle then
sits on the top of your leg, well away from the u/c