Pilot Debrief

BEECH K35 near Readington, NJ — 2021-07-30

Final reportERA21LA312
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Date
2021-07-30
Location
Readington, NJ, USA
Airport
N51
Aircraft
BEECH K35
Registration
N44DB
Category
Airplane
Highest injury
None
Fatalities
0

Probable cause

The failure of the forward end of the landing gear actuator rod.

NTSB narrative

On the base leg of the traffic pattern, the pilot lowered the landing gear and the green landing gear indicator light illuminated. During the subsequent landing, the main gear touched down, and “the nose came down like normal but kept going down with a sudden bang.” The airplane slid off the runway, came to rest in the grass, and sustained substantial damage to the forward lower fuselage. Examination of the airplane revealed that forward end of the landing gear actuator rod was fractured. The failure resulted in insufficient tension to keep the over-center down lock assembly in place.

NTSB coding

Evidence available

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

Docket documents4

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