What happened
The flight crew reported that immediately after retracting the landing gear following takeoff, the indicator for the left main gear showed an unsafe position, accompanied by an unsafe door indication. The crew attempted to recycle the gear mechanism but observed the same warning indications persisting. Subsequently, the gear handle was placed in the neutral position, which allowed the left main gear to extend fully to a down and locked position. The captain made the decision to return to Memphis for a precautionary landing.
Following the extension cycle, all gear indicators confirmed a down and safe status. Tower personnel visually confirmed that the gear appeared to be properly deployed. However, after touchdown, the left wing began to settle toward the runway surface. Despite this structural movement, the crew kept the aircraft on the runway. An emergency evacuation was initiated; however, the slide at the left forward door failed to inflate.
The investigation
An examination of the aircraft revealed that the left gear outer cylinder, part number 65-57901-19, had failed due to fatigue. A stress corrosion crack had initiated on the outer diameter of the strut cylinder. This damage occurred in a location where a strap had obscured the corrosion from view. There was no record of a hard landing that could have contributed to the failure. Additionally, no pressure was found in the inflation bottle for the left forward door slide, and no reason was determined for this loss of pressure.