On January 10, 1991, a Cessna 320E (registration N4695X) operated by Warner, Jack E. was involved in an aviation accident near Elkhart, IN. Investigators recorded the probable cause as: A FRACTURED LANDING GEAR RETRACTION ASSEMBLY COMPONENT AND THE PILOT'S IMPROPER EMERGENCY PROCEDURE. This summary draws on records from the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) historical archive.
A pilot encountered a hung nose gear after takeoff, and attempts to extend it failed. During gear cycling, power loss occurred on both engines, recovered by adjusting fuel selectors. On final approach below 400 feet, both engines had no power response, leading to a hard landing.
Incident Overview
A pilot experienced a hung nose gear on retraction after takeoff. Normal and manual attempts to extend the nose gear were unsuccessful. While cycling the landing gear, the pilot experienced power loss twice on the left engine and a hesitation on the right engine once. The engines recovered after adjusting the fuel selector handles.
Approach and Landing
The pilot continued to final approach configured for landing with the defective gear, using full flaps and with the main landing gear extended. The pilot reported having no power response from either engine below 400 feet on final approach. He increased the descent angle to maintain 100 mph but had insufficient speed to flare for touchdown.
Post-Incident Examination
Examination of the airplane revealed that the cam roller that centers the nose wheel on retraction had fractured. Additionally, the nose gear drive tube was buckled and fractured at the location where the fuel selector handles attach to cables leading to the selector valves.