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TBM AVENGER/BU. 53503

Bureau #: 53503
Construction #: 3565
Civil Registration(s):
  N6583D
  N53503

Model(s):
  TBM-3S Avenger
  AS Mk. 3 Avenger
Name: TBM 309
Status: Airworthy
Last info: 2019

History:
Delivered to Royal Canadian Navy as 53503.

• BOC: June 30, 1950.
• SOC: January 1, 1958.

Simsbury Flying Service, Simsbury, CT, 1963-1970.

• Registered as N6583D.

Joe E. Jones/Confederate Air Force, Harlingen, TX, 1970-1972.
Robert L. Wick/Confederate Air Force, Harlingen, TX, January 13, 1972-1991.

• Registered as N53503.

Commemorative Air Force, Harlingen, TX, January 13, 1972-2019.

• Registered as N53503 to the American Airpower Hetitage Flying Museum.
• Restored in TBN-3E configuration, ????-1989.
• Damaged when landing gear accidently raised during taxiing, Glendale, AZ, March 17, 2014.
• Repaired at Mesa, AZ.
• Flown as USN/82 (later USN/309).

NTSB Identification: WPR14CA143
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Monday, March 17, 2014 in Glendale, AZ
Probable Cause Approval Date: 05/21/2014
Aircraft: GRUMMAN TMB-3E Registration: N53503
Injuries: 4 Uninjured.

NTSB investigators used data provided by various entities, including, but not limited to, the Federal Aviation Administration and/or the operator and did not travel in support of this investigation to prepare this aircraft accident report.
The pilot reported that after landing and during the turn onto a taxiway intersection, he inadvertently raised the landing gear lever by mistake, rather than the adjacent flap lever. The left landing gear collapsed, which caused the left wing tip to strike the ground. The impact resulted in substantial damage to the left wing. The pilot stated that the accident could have been prevented had he waited until he was clear of the runway, stopped, and identified the flap switch. The pilot reported no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.

The National Transportation Safety Board determines the probable cause(s) of this accident as follows:

• The pilot inadvertently raised the landing gear lever rather than the adjacent flap level while exiting the runway which resulted in the retraction of the left main landing gear.

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