Incident Overview
On October 29, 2008, at approximately 1959 mountain standard time, a Cessna 421C, registration N421PC, experienced a landing gear collapse during rollout at Falcon Field in Mesa, Arizona. The aircraft was owned and operated by Dry Force, Inc., of Mesa. The aircraft sustained substantial damage; the commercial certificated pilot and four passengers were not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and the flight was conducted under an instrument flight rules flight plan, operating under 14 CFR Part 91. The flight originated from San Diego, California, at about 1737 Pacific daylight time.
Sequence of Events
The pilot reported that during the approach to Falcon Field, he placed the landing gear selector in the down position. The green position light for the left landing gear did not illuminate. The pilot attempted to lower the gear several times and then attempted to extend it using the emergency blow-down procedure. Neither method succeeded. The pilot landed on runway 22 with a partially extended landing gear. The airplane touched down softly, but substantial structural damage occurred as the airplane swerved off the runway and slid to a stop. The belly skin was punctured, and several ribs were bent upward. The pilot noted a strong odor of hydraulic fluid in the cabin.
Examination Findings
An examination of the landing gear system revealed that an aluminum hydraulic line associated with the gear operation had ruptured beneath an Adel clamp. A crack was found in the line at a 45-degree bend near the clamp. The pilot reported that the emergency gear extension system became inoperative when the hydraulic leak occurred. The airframe and the broken line had accumulated a total time of approximately 4,113 hours.