Pilot Debrief

CESSNA P210N near Mount Vernon, WA — 2017-10-28

Final reportWPR18LA022
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Date
2017-10-28
Location
Mount Vernon, WA, USA
Airport
BVS
Aircraft
CESSNA P210N
Registration
N6582P
Category
Airplane
Highest injury
None
Fatalities
0
Phase of flight
Landing

Probable cause

The failure of the right main landing gear (MLG) down-lock mechanism due to an out-of-tolerance down-lock hook, which resulted in the collapse of the right MLG during the landing roll.

NTSB narrative

The commercial pilot configured the airplane for a straight-in approach when it was about 8 nautical miles from the destination airport. He verified that both main landing gear were down and locked by seeing that the landing gear indicator light had illuminated and by looking in a mirror mounted on the right wing and seeing that the gear were down. After a normal touchdown and during the landing roll, the airplane began to veer right, which the pilot believed was likely due to a flat tire. He then shut down the engine and steered the airplane to a grassy area adjacent to the runway. Postaccident examination of the airplane revealed that the right main landing gear (MLG) had collapsed and that the right aileron and right elevator had sustained substantial damage. Postaccident examination of the landing gear system revealed that the right MLG's down-lock hook exceeded the airplane manufacturer's maximum tolerance and that it was not over center, which is required for the landing gear to remain in the locked position. Based on the evidence, it is likely that the out-of-tolerance down-lock hook prevented the right MLG from locking after the pilot deployed the landing gear and resulted in the right MLG collapsing during the landing roll. The airplane service manual states that the proper rigging of the MLG down-lock mechanism should be verified every 200 hours. A review of the maintenance logbooks revealed no entries related to the rigging, which is not always documented in the maintenance logbook following each service. Therefore, it could not be determined whether a maintenance event led to the out-of tolerance right MLG down-hook or if it became out of tolerance over time.

Analysis

Primary failure mode
Mechanical failure
First missed decision gate
Proper rigging of the downlock should have been verified every 200 flight hours.

NTSB coding

Evidence available

  • Photos
  • 7 docket documents
View NTSB final reportView NTSB docket

Docket documents7

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