On April 13, 2005, a Cessna 310 (registration N3622D) was involved in an aviation accident near Clear Lake, MN. No fatalities were reported. Investigators recorded the probable cause as: The collapse of the nose landing gear as a result of the pilot performing improper maintenance on the airplane due to his failure to properly safety the nose landing gear door. This summary draws on records from the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) historical archive.
During landing, the nose landing gear collapsed and the airplane nosed over. Investigation revealed that a cotter pin on the nose landing gear door had been removed by the pilot and not replaced, causing the gear to fail to retract and then collapse.
Incident Overview
The airplane sustained damage when its nose landing gear collapsed during the landing roll, causing the aircraft to nose over. The event occurred following a flight in which the nose landing gear had failed to retract after takeoff.
Investigation Findings
Post-accident examination revealed that a cotter pin securing a component of the nose landing gear door had been removed by the pilot prior to the flight. The pin was not reinstalled. As a result, the nose landing gear could not retract during the flight and subsequently collapsed upon landing.
Maintenance and Authorization
The airplane's most recent annual inspection had taken place 13 months before the accident. No special flight authorization had been granted to the aircraft at the time of the flight.
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