Three Greens
The Arrow's gear system, the GUMPS check, and the distraction that puts you on the belly
The scenario
Departing and returning to Tampa North Aero Park Airport (X39), elevation 68 ft MSL — a single-runway non-towered field (Runway 14/32, 3,541 ft of asphalt). You are landing Runway 32, heading 321°. CTAF is active; there is one other aircraft in the pattern.
Aircraft: Piper Arrow (PA-28R-201), fuel-injected IO-360, constant-speed prop, hydraulically actuated retractable gear. You have flown the Arrow for 80 hours. Today is a solo proficiency flight — two touch-and-goes followed by a full-stop.
Weather: VMC, clear, winds calm. Density altitude near field elevation — no performance penalty. Visibility unrestricted.
The off-field environment at both ends of Runway 14/32 is poor: medium and low-density residential development mixed with wooded wetland. There is no viable off-airport landing area off either runway end. A gear-up on the runway is survivable and repairable. A gear-up into the surrounding terrain is neither.
Pilot: you — Private, complex endorsement current, 80 hours in type. The Arrow's gear system is hydraulic; the gear handle is on the panel, the position lights (three green = down and locked) are your primary confirmation, and the warning horn sounds when power is reduced below approximately 14 inches MP with gear up. An automatic gear-extension system may be installed — but it is NOT a substitute for the GUMPS check.
The scenario begins on the downwind leg for your second touch-and-go.
- {'label': 'Field', 'value': 'X39 · Tampa North Aero Park'}
- {'label': 'Runways', 'value': '14/32'}
- {'label': 'Elevation', 'value': '68 ft'}
- {'label': 'Aircraft', 'value': 'PA-28R'}
- {'label': 'Dominant phase', 'value': 'Takeoff / Landing'}
The decision
Before the scenario runs — which of these Arrow-specific gear facts are already in your head? (Pick all that apply; this records your baseline, not your grade.)
What the record shows
What the NTSB files show — and where it really happened
The events that built this scenario did not happen at Tampa North Aero Park (X39). They happened at other airports across the country — but the airplane, the mechanism, and the human factor are identical to what you fly here.
In CEN24LA288 (2024), a PA-28R-180 pilot landed with the left main and nose gear not fully locked because he was distracted by skydiving operations and difficulty locating an unfamiliar airport — and never ran the before-landing checklist. In CEN25LA133 (2025), a PA-28R-201T pilot was distracted by an external seatbelt issue and another aircraft in the pattern. In CEN25LA120 (2025), a flight instructor became complacent during radio traffic and the crew failed to verify gear position before landing. The probable cause language is nearly identical across all of them: failure to extend the landing gear before landing due to distraction and failure to conduct the before-landing checklist.
In CEN11LA418 (2011), the gear hydraulic power pack motor failed — a genuine mechanical event — and the pilot still made a wheels-up landing because he did not use the emergency extension system. The system existed; he did not use it.
The class-peer events (Beechcraft retractable singles, 2025) show the same pattern in comparable airplanes: a pilot distracted by traffic in the pattern, a warning horn misidentified or ignored, a checklist not run. The mechanism does not care what name is on the tail.
The Arrow's automatic gear-extension system, where installed, has prevented some of these accidents — but it is not infallible, it can be inoperative, and it has been overridden by pilots who did not understand it. It is a backup. The GUMPS check is the defense.
At X39, both runway ends offer poor off-field options: medium and low-density development mixed with wooded wetland. A gear-up on Runway 32's 3,541 feet of asphalt is survivable and repairable. The same airplane departing the pavement into the surrounding terrain is neither. The runway is your friend. Use it — with the gear down.
Key lesson — Gear-up landings in the Arrow are almost always caused by distraction breaking the checklist habit — not by mechanical failure. Run GUMPS on downwind and confirm three green on final, every circuit, every time. When gear indication is abnormal, the answer is a go-around and altitude to troubleshoot — not optimism at 300 ft AGL.
Debrief — teaching points
GUMPS is not optional in a complex airplane — it is the system.
The Arrow's gear does not extend automatically when you slow down (the automatic system, where installed, is a backup with known failure modes). The hydraulic gear must be commanded DOWN by the pilot, and confirmed DOWN by three green lights. GUMPS — Gas, Undercarriage, Mixture, Prop, Seatbelts — run on downwind and cross-checked on final, is the procedural defense. Every NTSB gear-up report in this type traces back to a checklist that was not run. Distraction is the trigger; the missing checklist is the mechanism.
Three green means down and locked — anything less means go around.
One dark light on the gear indicator is not 'probably fine.' It means one gear is not confirmed down and locked. The correct response to any asymmetric or absent gear indication is a go-around to altitude, a gear recycle (handle UP, then DOWN), a circuit-breaker check, and if necessary the emergency free-fall extension procedure — all done with altitude and time, not at 300 ft AGL on short final. Vle is 129 KIAS; stay below it while working the gear.
The warning horn is a backup, not the checklist.
The Arrow's gear-warning horn sounds when manifold pressure drops below approximately 14 in. Hg with the gear up. It has saved aircraft. It has also been silenced by pilots who thought it was a nuisance, misidentified it, or were too distracted to process it. Multiple NTSB cases — including CEN26LA028 in a comparable retractable single — cite the pilot misidentifying the warning horn as a contributing factor. The horn is a last-ditch reminder. The GUMPS check is the primary defense.
Touch-and-go operations are a known gear-up trap in the Arrow.
On a touch-and-go, the rollout workload spike — flaps up, prop forward, power in — happens at the same moment the gear is being retracted for the next circuit. The next downwind arrives quickly, and if the GUMPS check is delayed or crowded out by traffic, the gear stays up. Recognize touch-and-go operations as a high-risk phase for gear-up in any retractable. Build the habit of running GUMPS as the first item abeam the numbers, before any other task.
At X39, the runway is your best option — use it with the gear down.
Tampa North Aero Park (X39) has one runway, 3,541 feet of asphalt, with poor off-field options at both ends: medium and low-density development mixed with wooded wetland. A gear-up belly slide on Runway 32 is survivable; the prop and engine will be destroyed, and the airframe will sustain substantial damage, but the occupants typically walk away. The same airplane departing the pavement into the surrounding development and wetland is a different outcome entirely. When the gear system has genuinely failed and all procedures are exhausted, a controlled gear-up on the runway — declared as an emergency, flown deliberately — is the correct choice. The runway is your friend. Arrive on it with three green.
Built from the real accident record
Scenario built from multiple PA-28R gear-up landing events (CEN24LA288, WPR22LA040, CEN11LA418, CEN25LA133, CEN25LA120) and class-peer retractable-single gear-up events (ERA26LA045, CEN26LA028, WPR26LA016, ERA25LA343, CEN25LA319). Localized to Tampa North Aero Park Airport (X39). Real events occurred at other airports.
NTSB reports: CEN24LA288 · WPR22LA040 · CEN11LA418 · CEN25LA133 · CEN25LA120 · ERA26LA045 · CEN26LA028 · WPR26LA016 · ERA25LA343 · CEN25LA319 · CHI91DCJ01 · ANC93LA040
ACS tasks: PA.IV.A — Normal Approach and Landing · PA.IV.B — Normal Approach and Landing (Complex Aircraft) · PA.I.H — Human Factors · PA.IX.C — Systems and Equipment Malfunctions
Step through the full decision tree, make the calls, and see where each choice leads — then debrief it with your CFI.
Open the interactive scenario →All sample scenarios · More Piper Arrow scenarios · More scenarios at X39