Pilot Debrief

JURCAN Seawind 3000 near Renton, WA — 2016-09-18

Final reportWPR16LA187
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Date
2016-09-18
Location
Renton, WA, USA
Airport
RNT
Aircraft
JURCAN Seawind 3000
Registration
N57TJ
Category
Airplane
Highest injury
None
Fatalities
0
Phase of flight
Landing

Probable cause

The failure of the landing gear system to either fully retract or extend due to a cracked hydraulic fitting flare, which resulted in the loss of hydraulic pressure.

NTSB narrative

The private pilot was conducting a cross-country personal flight. He reported that, after arriving at his destination and trying to ensure that the airplane was configured for the water landing, he observed that the right main landing gear (MLG) indicator light was off and that the hydraulic pressure read 0. The pilot then attempted to retract the right MLG several times to no avail. He chose to fly to a nearby airport with a paved runway, where the tower controller confirmed that the right MLG was extended but that the left MLG and nose landing gears were retracted. The pilot attempted to use the backup manual hydraulic pump and abrupt maneuvers to extend the remaining landing gear to no avail. The pilot chose to land on the runway with the landing gear partially retracted. The airplane touched down on the runway with the right MLG first. The pilot held the left wing off the runway as long as possible, but then the wing touched the runway, and the airplane veered off the runway surface. The airplane slid along the grass, impacted an airport sign and light, spun 180°, and then came to a rest. Postaccident examination of the airplane revealed that a hydraulic leak had originated from a cracked flare in a hydraulic line fitting, which caused the hydraulic fluid to leak, decreased the hydraulic pressure to 0, and prevented the landing gear system from fully extending or retracting.

Analysis

Primary failure mode
Mechanical failure
First missed decision gate
Pilot could have chosen to divert to a different airport earlier.

NTSB coding

Evidence available

  • 2 docket documents
View NTSB final reportView NTSB docket

Docket documents2

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