Incident Overview
On May 23, 2010, at approximately 1020 Pacific daylight time, Skywest Airlines flight 6467, a Bombardier CRJ (CL-600-2B19, registration N925SW), made an emergency landing with the nose landing gear in the retracted position at Ontario International Airport (ONT), Ontario, California. The flight was operating as a scheduled domestic passenger flight under 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 121. The crew consisted of a certificated airline transport pilot captain, a commercial pilot first officer, and a flight attendant, along with 24 passengers. No injuries were reported.
The flight had departed San Francisco International Airport (SFO) about 0815 as a non-stop to Ontario. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and an instrument flight rules flight plan was filed.
Gear Malfunction and Response
The crew reported that the flight was uneventful until they were on final approach for landing at ONT. When the landing gear selector was moved to the down position, the main landing gear extended and locked, but the nose landing gear remained retracted. The crew observed an unsafe nose landing gear indication.
They aborted the landing approach and notified air traffic control of the emergency. Following the Quick Reference Handbook, they attempted to correct the malfunction but were unsuccessful. A low-level flyby was conducted to allow tower and ground personnel to assess the nose gear. The landing gear doors were open, but the nose gear was still retracted in its compartment.
Emergency Landing and Evacuation
Given the failure to lower the nose gear, the crew decided to make an emergency landing. After the main gear touched down, the captain held the nose off the ground as long as possible. The nose gear doors contacted the runway centerline, and the airplane slid about 2,000 feet. Passengers and crew exited via the main cabin door.
Post-Incident Examination
The Cockpit Voice Recorder and Flight Data Recorder were removed and sent to the NTSB lab in Washington, DC, for analysis. Factual reports are attached to the docket.
After the airplane was jacked up using airbags and the nose gear extended, examination revealed minor damage to the belly. The airplane was towed to a fixed base operator to prepare for a ferry flight to a maintenance facility. On May 26, 2010, the airplane was flown from ONT to Fresno, California, on a ferry permit.
On May 27–28, investigators examined the landing gear systems. The nose landing gear was removed and shipped to the manufacturer, Messier-Dowty, for further examination. On August 1, 2010, an examination of the landing gear was conducted, and a copy of the report is attached to the docket.
Hydraulic samples were taken from three nose gear landing servos. All results appeared normal except for the Uplock Actuator servo, which revealed "PARTICLES APPEAR ABNORMAL AT NAS CLASS 12, NAS CLASS 9 OR BETTER IS RECOMMENDED." All other tests appeared normal.
After all examinations, the investigation found no abnormalities that would have precluded normal operations of the landing gear system.