Accident Overview
On February 27, 2008, at approximately 0141 eastern standard time, a Cessna 210L, registration N5489V, operated by Flight Express, Inc., as flight 805, experienced a collapse of the right main landing gear during landing at Tampa International Airport (TPA), Tampa, Florida. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and the flight was conducted under an instrument flight rules flight plan as a 14 CFR Part 135 non-scheduled domestic cargo operation. The flight originated from Columbia Metropolitan Airport (CAE), Columbia, South Carolina, around 2243. The airplane sustained substantial damage; the sole occupant, a certificated commercial pilot, was not injured.
Pilot Report
According to the pilot, the flight departed and proceeded uneventfully to the destination. The flight was cleared to land on runway 27, with wind from 300 degrees at 12 knots. Approximately 5 miles from the airport, the pilot performed the "TBGUMPS" flow, which included verifying and vocalizing "Green light-On" indicating the landing gear was down and locked. The pilot also visually confirmed the left main landing gear was down and locked by looking outside the window. After the right main landing gear contacted the runway, the airplane momentarily became airborne. The pilot noted that the right main landing gear did not feel as solid as expected upon initial contact. The airplane then touched down on the left main landing gear, and the pilot held the nose landing gear off the runway as long as possible. Subsequently, the airplane veered to the right off the runway onto grass.
Postaccident Examination
The operator's director of maintenance (DOM) reported to an FAA airworthiness inspector that prior to raising the airplane, the landing gear green safe light illuminated when battery power was applied. When the airplane was raised, the right main landing gear fell out of the wheel well and was moved to the down and locked position with no discrepancies noted. Postaccident examination by an FAA inspector revealed that the entire horizontal and vertical stabilizer assembly was displaced 15 to 20 degrees to the right, with extensive buckling to the left side fuselage skin. The plunger of the right main landing gear down and locked switch was depressed and bent; physical effort was required to pull it out, and it was misaligned from its normal installed position. The switch was retained for further examination.
Further examination of the switch at the airplane manufacturer's facility with FAA oversight included X-ray analysis. The switch as received (plunger depressed) showed closed contacts and electrical continuity through the attached wires and switch. An exemplar switch with the plunger in the full up (normally open) position showed no continuity. Inspection of the switch contacts and mechanism revealed no damage or corrosion. By design, depressing each plunger at all down and locked switches builds hydraulic system pressure and shuts off the electrically-driven hydraulic pump.
Maintenance History
Maintenance records indicated that the right main landing gear down and locked switch had been replaced six times since 1992, with the latest replacement in October 2004. That entry noted a bent switch plunger. At the time of the accident, the airplane had accumulated approximately 2,082 hours since the latest switch replacement. The operator performed gear rigging testing every 300 hours; the latest check occurred on November 15, 2007, with about 218 hours flown since then.