On March 15, 1997, a Cessna T210 (registration N6677N) was involved in an aviation accident near Janesville, WI. Investigators recorded the probable cause as: the pilot inadvertently retracting the landing gear during the takeoff roll. This summary draws on records from the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) historical archive.
The pilot reported that the left main landing gear collapsed during takeoff at 60-70 knots, causing the aircraft to veer off the runway. Inspection showed retracted gears, but testing found no mechanical failure.
What happened
During the takeoff roll, the pilot experienced a collapse of the left main landing gear while the aircraft was accelerating at an airspeed between 60 and 70 knots. Following this structural failure, the airplane departed the paved surface and came to rest on the left side of the runway.
The investigation
A post-accident examination of the aircraft revealed that both the left main gear and the nose gear were in a retracted position. To determine if a system malfunction contributed to the event, engineers conducted post-accident testing of the landing gear mechanism. These tests failed to reveal any failure or malfunction within the gear system itself.
Findings
The primary factor in this incident was the collapse of the left main landing gear during the critical takeoff phase. While the nose gear also ended up retracted, the mechanical inspection of the gear system did not identify a pre-existing defect or operational failure that would explain the initial collapse.