On Thu, 29 Nov 2007 13:43:42 -0500, "Marco Leon"
I saw it on MSNBC while waiting in line somewhere. It looked like a Cessna
172RG.

My thought too...if I read the tail # right it's 9453 8,0, or D
9453D is a 172RG
9453 8 and 0 are 182Q's, so it must be a D (?)

When he came in to land, only the left gear was out which left me
wondering why he did not retract it in the interest of directional control.

I saw the cnn video, it was obvious to me that it was trailing and not
locked. They are a bit further forward if down and locked. If you
have a hydraulic failure, it wont stay up. But I also have about 55
hours in 'em and took my commercial in one

Once he touched down, it became obvious the left gear was not locked in the
down position when it safely retracted/folded back immediately on touchdown.

it basically trailed back. they are either locked down or held up by
hydraulic pressure.

After some sparks and a short rollout, the emergency truck came and sprayed
the underbelly and the pilot got out a bit later. It took him a little
longer than I would expect but he may have tried to secure the plane in a
certain manner before exiting.

Good job by the pilot overall.
YES...about TIME GA gets some good press.

Dumb comment on cnn tho about "I guess there was two inside there"
The right seater exited first, and the pilot later, probably after
verifying everything was secure and master off

Uhh...doesnt the PILOT usually sit on the left?


obviously they didnt know dat
--Don

Don Byrer KJ5KB
Radar Tech & Smilin' Commercial Pilot Guy
Glider & CFI wannabe
kj5kb-at-hotmail.com

"I have slipped the surly bonds of earth; now if I can just land without bending the gear..."
"Watch out for those doves...smack-smack-smack-smack..."