What happened
During an approach for landing, the pilot of the aircraft experienced a failure of the landing gear to extend fully. The pilot reported hearing a metallic-sounding clack during the initial attempt to lower the gear. Following this, several attempts were made to deploy the landing gear using both the normal and emergency extension procedures, but the gear remained partially retracted.
Due to the malfunction, the pilot elected to divert to an alternate airport to perform an emergency landing. Upon arrival at the alternate airport, the pilot performed a fly-by, during which ground personnel confirmed that the landing gear was not fully extended. The pilot subsequently proceeded with a wheels-up landing.
The investigation
A post-accident examination of the aircraft confirmed that the landing gear would not fully extend. The inspection revealed damage to the nose landing gear steering stops, the nose landing gear down lock mechanism, and the nose landing gear wheel well sidewall. This damage was found to be consistent with exceeding the steering limits of the nose landing gear during ground handling.
Findings
- The landing gear failed to extend fully due to mechanical issues.
- Damage to the nose landing gear components was consistent with exceeding steering limits during previous ground operations.