What happened
Following departure, the pilot observed that the gear unsafe warning light remained illuminated after the landing gear had been retracted. Upon inspection, the pilot discovered that the circuit breaker for the gear hydraulic motor had popped. After resetting the circuit breaker and cycling the landing gear down, the pilot noted that only two green lights were illuminated for the main gear, and the nose gear light remained unlit.
To troubleshoot, the pilot swapped bulbs and confirmed the bulb was functional. The pilot then attempted to use the emergency gear extension with the gear handle in the down position, but the indicator still showed only two green lights for the main gear. While circling the airport due to the difficulty extending the nose landing gear, air traffic control advised the pilot that the nose gear appeared to be in a midway position.
The pilot subsequently performed an approach and landing on runway 24. The aircraft landed heavily on the main landing gear, resulting in a wing strike as the wing contacted the ground.
The investigation
After the incident, the aircraft was placed on jacks for a mechanical examination of the landing gear. During the inspection, the nose gear was extended by hand. The investigation revealed that the steering ball was outside of its track, which prevented the nose gear from fully extending.