Accident Overview
On January 8, 2015, about 1640 central standard time, a Cessna 210B, registration N9565X, experienced a landing gear collapse upon landing at Sullivan Regional Airport (KUUV) in Sullivan, Missouri. The aircraft sustained substantial damage, but the private pilot was not injured. The flight was conducted under 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 without a flight plan.
Incident Description
The flight departed Jefferson City Memorial Airport (KJEF) around 1600 en route to KUUV. After takeoff, the pilot did not receive the cockpit annunciation indicating the landing gear was retracted. An air traffic controller confirmed that the gear was not fully retracted. The pilot cycled the landing gear and operated the hand pump but could not extend or retract the gear. The pilot chose to proceed to his home airport, KUUV. A mechanic communicated with the pilot and noted that the nose landing gear appeared to be down, so the pilot elected to land on the runway. During the landing roll, the nose gear remained extended, but the main landing gear collapsed. The resulting damage included a bent spar on the right horizontal stabilizer and bending of the right wing skin, wing tip, and outer spar.
Examination Findings
Examination of the landing gear system revealed that the right landing gear actuator (part number 1280501-2) was cracked and had leaked hydraulic fluid. No other anomalies were found in the system. The actuator was sent to a laboratory for further analysis. The examination showed that the actuator cylinder had cracked both longitudinally and transversely. The crack originated at the snap ring groove at the end of the cylinder. The fracture at the snap ring groove exhibited features consistent with fatigue cracking, while the longitudinal crack displayed characteristics of ductile overload. Detailed results are available in the accident docket. The most recent annual inspection of the aircraft was completed on October 22, 2013, and no recent maintenance had been performed on the landing gear.