Q400 Landing Gear Fail on Annunciator Panel

[Ramjett 27]

I have flown the Q400 Pro Edition quite often since purchasing it in November 2016 through the Real Flight Shop website.  I love "cold and dark" procedures and have that panel state set in the Control Panel to load for every trip unless it is a continuing throughput flight.

This morning I loaded up at Kelowna, British Columbia for a Horizon flight to Seattle on VATSIM.  Since it was my first flight of the day I ran through the appropriate checklists applicable for a first/originating flight and then started number two off the APU during pushback and number 1 after pushback was complete.  I had been connected to the GPU while at the gate with the APU running, but not on line.

A quick check of the panel, overhead, and annunciator showed I was good to go, so I lined up and started my takeoff roll.  At about 1,000 feet AGL and 150 KIAS I pulled the gear up and immediately got a warning flash on the annunciator "Landing Gear Fail"  The handle was up, but "reddish" (never noticed before if it is always "reddish" when up).  Plus all three gear lights were still green and the "travel" lights below them were yellow.  I continued a shallow climb on the runway heading and when I had sufficient maneuvering speed I turned on course, engaged the autopilot and started troubleshooting the gear problem.

First action was to cycle the gear handle three times.  Gear stayed down and did not move.  "Landing Gear Fail" light extinguished any time the gear handle was in the down and locked postion, but came back on anytime I tried to raise the gear.  Since I have the Pro Edition I checked the Bus and Circuit Breakers, but really didn't see anything Gear/Hydraulics related so left them alone.  I did notice the #3 Hydraulic System was showing 0 PSI on the EICAS Display, but quantity level was normal.

By now I was approaching 14,000 feet so I leveled off there (I was programmed for 24,000 to Seattle)  and weighed my options.  I did open the Emergency Gear Handle unit and briefly considered using that system, but I had never experimented with it before and was reluctant...afraid I could get them up only to not be able to extend the gear later.  So, I looked in the manual for an Abnormal Checklist and couldn't find one.  I began to suspect it was a "Majestic-induced wear and tear fail" but didn't recall even a settings for failures in the Control Panel.

After weighing all this I tried to think what the crew would do in real life and decided rather than return to Kelowna I would proceed to Seattle at 14,000 and a lower enroute speed to avoid further damaging the gear or gear doors.  I did "sneak" a quick peek in external view to visually have a look and everything looked normal.  I decided to continue on the Seattle because I figured I had one landing and one landing only.  If the gear failed it was gonna do it at Kelowna or at Seattle no matter what.  I opted for Seattle because I decided they were better suited to handle what could happen and Alaska/Horizon Maintenance is right there.

I landed uneventfully and haven't flown her since.

Ideas?

Randy Tyndall

 

[STUART_H 12]

I had this once, and it turned out that I had forgot to ensure the gear pins were stowed away. Click on the box behind the copilot seat, or I think you can also use the FMC, before push back / taxi. 

Cheers,

Stuart

[Ramjett 27]

Thanks for the reply, Stuart.  I just visited the Majestic Website Support Forum for the first time...I had to wait for my invite code and it arrived by email after I posted here...and saw a thread about the gear pins.

That must have been what I did in my hurry to get airborne.  I started my checklists before taking the grandkids to school and then finished them after getting back home.  I'll bet I skipped that step in Before First Flight-PNF checklist.  I'm gonna blame it on the First Officer...

Honestly, during this ordeal I thought about a Lockheed C-5A flight I was somewhat involved in for real quite some years ago.  The C-5A landed short on approach to Shemya, Alaska in the early 1980's and sheared the gear.  They actually saved the aircraft but had to get a onetime waiver to fly the aircraft back to Travis AFB, California with the gear down and pinned.  I thought briefly about it...but just knew I pulled the pins before leaving the gate...and really it entered my mind after I decided to continue to Seattle with the gear down.  I thought if they can do it with a Galaxy I can sure do it in the "Q"!

A little concerned about there being no Abnormal Procedures Checklist, though, at least not that I could find.

Randy

 

[crosswind 825]

The situation of failing to pull the gear pins does not create an abnormal situation as it was induced by the crew and the gear still works in that you are able to extend the gear.  Now if the gear pins have been stowed and you retract the gear and get an amber or red light then there are procedures for that, and or extend the gear and it fails to extend or have an unsafe gear light then you have issues for which there are procedures as well.

 

 

Cheers

 

[Ramjett 27]

Thanks for the reply Simeon.  Much appreciated.

Yep, it was completely my fault, but at the time I wasn't aware that I had missed a step in the checklist, so in a sense it is still "abnormal". and would be until I turned,  looked behind the seat and said "hey, where's the gear pins?"

In your two examples you mention there are procedures for those situations and that was the point of my last comment above.  I could not find any QRC, or abnormal, or failure checklists anywhere in the Q400 documentation .pdf files.  If there are procedures in what .pdf file are they found?

Randy

[Jazzfan 57]

 Open the docs folder found in the Q400 install folder, and open the "index.html" file in your browser. There is a 260 page "Abnormal and Emergency Procedures Manual" included there.

 

[Ramjett 27]

Well I'll be darned...there it is.

Thanks Jazzfan

Randy