Incident Overview
A small aircraft sustained substantial damage during a gear-up landing on the grass adjacent to Runway 21. The pilot, who reported 2,000 hours of flight experience, described the sequence of events leading to the landing.
Sequence of Events
The pilot stated that he lowered the landing gear handle to configure the aircraft for landing at Morrilton. The landing gear began to extend but then stopped. The pilot checked the circuit breaker controlling the electric hydraulic pump and found it engaged. He then cycled the gear switch, but the gear did not complete extension. Flying over the airport, the pilot received visual confirmation from ground personnel that the nose landing gear was down, but both main landing gear were only halfway extended.
Emergency Actions
Attempts to use the emergency landing gear hand pump were unsuccessful. The pilot then elected to perform a gear-up landing. After the incident, the pilot examined the aircraft and discovered hydraulic fluid in and around the nose gear wheel well.
Examination Findings
Upon closer inspection, the flex line to the nose gear hydraulic cylinder was observed to be chaffed and ruptured. This rupture allowed all hydraulic fluid to be pumped overboard, rendering both the electric primary pump and the hand-operated emergency pump inoperative.