PA-32 Cherokee Six/Lance/Saratoga/6X
Flight Crew Multiengine; Flight Crew Instrument; Flight Crew Flight Instructor; Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP); Maintenance Airframe; Maintenance Powerplant
Flight Crew Last 90 Days 100; Flight Crew Total 17000; Flight Crew Type 250
Situational Awareness
Aircraft Equipment Problem Less Severe; Ground Event / Encounter Gear Up Landing
Aircraft Aircraft Damaged; General Maintenance Action
Aircraft
After returning to the airplane to remove the engine for tear down inspection; I am filing this addendum to my initial report about this nose gear collapse upon landing. [It was found] that the Landing Gear 5 amp CTRL/LIGHTS circuit breaker apparently had tripped. This was caused by one wire in the nose gear wheel well; which seems to have broken from old age; shorting out the circuit; tripping the breaker.I came to the conclusion that the initial reaction was a positive gear extension due to the increased drag reducing the airspeed as desired for flap deployment. Next; in the turn from base to final; completing the 'before landing checklist'; I may have been fooled to 'see' three green lights; which was caused by the sun (at low angle) directly hitting the green plastic lights making them appear to be lit.A 'sweep' (flow-check) of the panels before landing did not reveal anything out of the ordinary; because this 5-amp breaker is completely hidden behind the right hand yoke when one looks at the breaker panel from the left seat without moving the head away from the normal; upright; sitting position. It is now also clear; why there was no automatic gear extension or warning horn or gear unsafe light. ALL of them are connected to this same circuit and when this breaker trips; they are all rendered useless. Basically; for this unfortunate sequence of events; a complete design fault by Piper. With this last statement; I am not excluding myself from the chain of events; but it is arguable whether the belief that the gear was in fact down and locked (airspeed drops as intended plus having 'three greens') and continue for a landing without doubt was wrong.  When in fact there was no further 'warning' as should have been to indicate a gear not down and fully locked.My recommendations would be to include in the Piper Checklist for all Pipers; Single; and Multi-engine; with the same similar wiring for the landing gear circuits. To make sure that the dimmer is in the OFF position for daytime; full light operations and that there should be a modification of the wiring to prevent ALL warnings to be DISABLED completely when the 'CTRL/LIGHTS' breaker trips. Perhaps this should be another item for a checklist; to move pilots' head enough to check for the GEAR breakers to be 'IN'.
A PA32 pilot reported that the nose gear was not down and locked.