What happened
The pilot encountered a mechanical issue immediately following takeoff when he realized the aircraft's landing gear would not retract as expected. He spent considerable effort attempting to manually lock the gear into place, but the system remained unresponsive. Consequently, he decided to execute an emergency landing to ensure the safety of the flight.
The investigation
Post-accident examination of the aircraft revealed a malfunction in the hydraulic power pack responsible for operating the nose landing gear. This failure had a cascading effect, causing the main landing gear to fail to extend and lock properly. The inability of the hydraulic system to function correctly was identified as the primary mechanical fault.
Findings
The investigation determined that the root cause of the incident was the malfunction of the hydraulic power pack. This component is critical for the proper operation of the landing gear system. Its failure prevented the main gear from extending and locking, which necessitated the emergency landing procedure initiated by the pilot.