Three Greens
Gear management in the Arrow — the checklist you cannot skip
The scenario
Departing and returning to St. Petersburg Clearwater International Airport (KPIE), Pinellas Park, FL — elevation 11 ft MSL, Class D airspace (ceiling 1,600 ft MSL), tower operating 0600–2300. You are landing Runway 18, a 9,730-ft concrete runway on a 171° true heading.
Aircraft: Piper Arrow (PA-28R-201), fuel-injected Lycoming IO-360, 200 hp, retractable gear, constant-speed prop. You are the sole occupant, within weight and balance limits. The airplane came out of its annual three weeks ago.
The flight: a 1.2-hour local cross-country. You're inbound, have the ATIS, and have been cleared for a straight-in ILS Runway 18. Tower is busy — there is a Cessna doing touch-and-goes on Runway 04/22 and a King Air on a 5-mile final behind you. The controller asks you to keep your speed up on final.
The trap: you're flying an airplane with three things to manage that a fixed-gear trainer does not — gear, prop, and flaps — and you're doing it in a busy environment with a controller pushing your pace. This is the exact scenario that fills the NTSB gear-up database.
- {'label': 'Field', 'value': 'KPIE · St. Petersburg Clearwater'}
- {'label': 'Runways', 'value': '4/22 · 18/36'}
- {'label': 'Elevation', 'value': '11 ft'}
- {'label': 'Aircraft', 'value': 'PA-28R'}
- {'label': 'Dominant phase', 'value': 'Takeoff / Landing'}
The decision
On the downwind leg, before you turn base — which of these are actually in your head right now? (Pick all that apply — no wrong answers; this records your pre-scenario awareness.)
What the record shows
What the NTSB files show
Gear-up landings in the Piper Arrow are not rare. The NTSB database contains multiple PA-28R events in recent years alone (CEN24LA288, CEN25LA133, CEN25LA120, CEN11LA418, WPR22LA040), and the pattern is remarkably consistent: a distraction — radio traffic, an unfamiliar airport, a passenger issue, ATC pace pressure — causes the pilot to omit or rush the before-landing checklist. The gear warning horn sounds; the pilot silences it or ignores it; the airplane lands on its belly.
The gear warning horn in the Arrow is triggered by throttle position (below approximately 12 inches manifold pressure with gear up) — it warns that the gear is NOT extended. Silencing it without extending the gear eliminates the last automated barrier. The three green lights are the only positive confirmation that all three gear legs are down and locked.
A second failure mode — documented in WPR22LA040 — is a mechanical fault preventing one gear leg from locking even after the handle is selected down. The correct response to any amber or missing green light on approach is an immediate go-around, gear recycling, and if needed, manual emergency free-fall extension per the POH. Landing on an unlocked gear leg results in collapse on rollout.
A third mode, documented in CEN11LA418, is hydraulic power pack failure: the gear handle is selected down but the pump cannot extend the gear. The Arrow's manual emergency extension system exists precisely for this case — but pilots who are unaware of it, or who have never practiced it, do not use it.
The real events cited here occurred at airports other than KPIE. The scenario is localized to St. Petersburg Clearwater International Airport for training purposes only.
Key lesson — In the Piper Arrow, three green lights are the only positive confirmation of gear-down-and-locked. Run GUMPS on downwind — Gas (correct tank), Undercarriage (DOWN, three green), Mixture (rich), Prop (forward), Switches/Seatbelts — and confirm three green again on short final. ATC pace pressure, radio traffic, and pattern distractions are present in nearly every gear-up accident. The checklist is the answer to all of them. If you get anything other than three green on final, go around.
Debrief — teaching points
The gear warning horn warns — it does not confirm.
The Arrow's gear warning horn activates when the throttle is retarded below approximately 12 inches manifold pressure with the gear up. It is telling you the gear is NOT down. Silencing the horn without selecting gear DOWN and verifying three green removes the last automated barrier between you and a gear-up landing. Treat the horn as a command: extend the gear, then verify three green before continuing.
GUMPS is the guardrail — run it on downwind, confirm on final.
Gas (correct tank selected, quantity adequate), Undercarriage (handle DOWN, three green lights), Mixture (full rich for sea-level KPIE), Prop (full forward for go-around capability), Switches/Seatbelts. Run it deliberately on downwind, not as a memory item rattled off while heads-down on the ILS. Confirm three green again on short final — it costs three seconds and catches any late hydraulic leak, inadvertent handle bump, or mechanical fault.
ATC pace pressure does not override the checklist.
A controller asking you to 'keep your speed up' is a request, not an instruction to skip the before-landing checklist. You are the PIC under 14 CFR §91.3 — final authority for the operation of the aircraft. If you need to slow, configure, and run your checklist, do so. If the controller's request creates a conflict with safe aircraft operation, advise them: 'Unable, slowing for configuration.' The King Air going around is a minor inconvenience. A gear-up landing is not.
Two green and one amber means go around — every time.
Any gear indication other than three green on final is a go-around. Climb away, recycle the gear (UP then DOWN), and if you still cannot get three green, locate and use the manual emergency free-fall extension handle per the POH. Declare an emergency — KPIE tower will clear the runway and have equipment standing by. Landing on an unlocked gear leg results in collapse on rollout (WPR22LA040). There is no version of 'it will probably lock on touchdown' that belongs in your decision-making.
Know the emergency extension system before you need it.
The Arrow's hydraulic gear system can fail — the power pack motor can seize (CEN11LA418), a circuit breaker can trip, or a mechanical fault can prevent extension. The manual emergency free-fall extension system bypasses the hydraulic actuator and allows gravity and airstream to extend and lock the gear. Know where the handle is, know the POH procedure, and brief it during preflight on every flight. Pilots who have never practiced it do not use it under pressure.
Built from the real accident record
Composite scenario built from multiple PA-28R gear-up landing events (CEN24LA288, CEN25LA133, CEN25LA120, CEN11LA418, WPR22LA040) and class-peer retractable-single events (ERA26LA045, CEN26LA028, WPR26LA016, ERA25LA343, CEN25LA319). All real events occurred at airports other than KPIE. Anonymized and localized.
NTSB reports: CEN24LA288 · WPR22LA040 · CEN11LA418 · CEN25LA133 · CEN25LA120 · ERA26LA045 · CEN26LA028 · WPR26LA016 · ERA25LA343 · CEN25LA319 · LAX89LA222 · ERA10CA300
ACS tasks: PA.IV.A — Normal Approach and Landing · PA.IV.B — Normal and Crosswind Takeoff and Climb · PA.IX.A — Emergency Approach and Landing · PA.I.H — Human Factors · PA.II.A — Preflight Inspection
Step through the full decision tree, make the calls, and see where each choice leads — then debrief it with your CFI.
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