Skyhawk 172/Cutlass 172
Flight Crew Private; Flight Crew Instrument
Flight Crew Last 90 Days 66; Flight Crew Total 429; Flight Crew Type 429
Human-Machine Interface
Aircraft Equipment Problem Critical; Ground Event / Encounter Ground Strike - Aircraft
Aircraft Aircraft Damaged; General Evacuated
Aircraft; Human Factors
I was practicing touch and goes with my instructor in a Cessna 172RG. My first three touch and goes were uneventful; and I proceeded to do another one. On the take off roll I pulled on the yoke to lift the plane. At that point the nose gear collapsed; and the airplane rolled off on the nose and the main wheels for a few feet before we stopped on the south end of the runway. There was damage to the propeller and the gear bay doors; but nothing else apparent. We got out of the plane normally; no one was injured. My instructor and I were surprised and observed the gear lever was up. The only explanation is that one of us must have accidentally hit the gear lever to the up position during the take off roll. Perhaps the gear lever can be located in a place where it is harder to bump?
I was the pilot/instructor; pilot not flying. As we rotated; apparently one of us had raised the gear handle and the nose gear retracted. A gust of wind pushed the nose down and the prop struck the runway. After that; the nose dropped and we skidded to a stop. Neither of us has any remembrance of raising the gear handle; but somehow it happened.The plane slowed and stopped very gently; and came to rest upright; nose on the pavement. Neither of us was injured. The conditions were: runway dry; sky few to scattered and clearing; wind was almost a direct crosswind: last wind check was '230 at 10'. The wind was gusty and there was some mechanical turbulence from a large hangar across the runway. The local airport ARFF responded quickly. The runway was cleared in approximately 90 minutes.
An Instructor Pilot and his Commercial student were accelerating their C172RG for takeoff from a touch and go when the nose gear collapsed; the nose dropped and the aircraft skidded to a smooth stop still on the runway surface.