Pilot Debrief

BELLANCA 17 31 near Salt Lake City, UT — 2014-03-21

Final reportWPR14LA142
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Date
2014-03-21
Location
Salt Lake City, UT, USA
Airport
SLC
Aircraft
BELLANCA 17 31
Registration
N28119
Category
Airplane
Highest injury
None
Fatalities
0
Phase of flight
Landing

Probable cause

The failure of the right main landing gear extension spring to maintain adequate pressure, which allowed the landing gear to collapse during the landing roll.

NTSB narrative

The pilot reported that, during the approach, he conducted his usual prelanding checklist, which included verifying the landing gear position and indicator lights four separate times. He conducted an uneventful touchdown; however, during the landing roll, the right main landing gear collapsed. Postaccident examination of the landing gear revealed that the right main landing gear extension spring appeared to be compressed, and, when tested, it only produced 19 to 20 pounds of pressure. It is likely that this reduced pressure was not sufficient to maintain the extension of the right main landing gear. The nose and left main landing gear extension springs were also tested, and they produced about 40 pounds of pressure. The pilot reported that three new springs, all of which produced 44 pounds of pressure, were subsequently installed on the airplane, and no further landing gear system anomalies were reported after flight testing.

Analysis

Primary failure mode
Mechanical failure
First missed decision gate
Pilot could have checked landing gear functionality before landing.

NTSB coding

Evidence available

  • 3 docket documents
View NTSB final reportView NTSB docket

Docket documents3

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