On May 23, 2010, about 1020 Pacific daylight time (PDT), Skywest Airlines flight 6467, a Bombardier CRJ, CL-600-2B19, N925SW, made an emergency landing with the nose gear in the retracted position at Ontario International Airport (ONT), Ontario, California. Skywest Airlines, Inc., was operating the airplane as a scheduled domestic passenger flight under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 121. The certificated airline transport pilot captain, commercial pilot first officer, flight attendant, and 24 passengers were not injured. The flight departed San Francisco International Airport (SFO), San Francisco, California, about 0815 as a non-stop to Ontario. Visual meteorological (VMC) conditions prevailed, and an instrument flight rules (IFR) flight plan had been filed.
The crew reported that the flight was uneventful until they were on final approach for landing at ONT. The landing gear selector was moved to the down position. The main landing gear extended and locked into place; however, the nose landing gear remained retracted. The crew observed an unsafe nose landing gear indication.
The crew aborted the landing approach, and advised air traffic control (ATC) of the emergency. The crew attempted to correct the landing gear malfunction by following the emergency procedures utilizing the Quick Reference Handbook (QRH), but was unsuccessful. The crew conducted a low-level flyby to have tower and ground personnel evaluate the condition of the nose landing gear. The landing gear doors were open, but the nose landing gear was still retracted in the landing gear compartment.
Due to the unsuccessful attempt to lower the nose landing gear, the crew decided to make an emergency landing. After the main landing gear touched down, the captain held the nose off the ground as long as possible. The nose landing gear doors touched down on the runway centerline, and the airplane slid about 2,000 feet. The passengers and crew exited the airplane using the main cabin door.
The airplane's Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR), and the Flight Data Recorder (FDR) were removed and shipped to the NTSB CVR/FDR lab in Washington, DC, for download and read out. A factual report for the CVR and the FDR are attached to the docket.
After the airplane was jacked up using airbags and the nose gear extended, an examination of the damage to the belly of the airplane was determined to be minor.
The airplane was towed to a fixed base operator-(FBO) to prepare the airplane for a ferry flight to one of the operator’s maintenance facilities.
On May 26, 2010, the airplane was flown from ONT to Fresno, California, on a ferry permit.
On May 27 and 28, 2010, investigators examined the airplane's landing gear systems. The nose landing gear was removed from the airframe and shipped to the manufacturer for further examination. A copy of the inspection with the observations and findings are attached to the docket.
Investigators convened at the Messier-Dowty, the manufacturer of the nose landing gear on August 1, 2010. An examination of the landing gear was accomplished and a copy of the report is attached to the docket.
Hydraulic samples were taken from the (3) nose gear landing servos and submitted for analysis. All results appeared normal, except for the sample from the Uplock Actuator servo, which revealed “PARTICLES APPEAR ABNORMAL AT NAS CLASS 12, NAS CLASS 9 OR BETTER IS RECOMMENDED” All other tests appear normal. After all examinations, the investigation found no abnormalities that would have precluded normal operations of the landing gear system.