Accident Overview
On May 29, 2018, at approximately 1345 eastern daylight time, a Cessna 337E, registration N86507, sustained substantial damage during a gear-up landing at DeKalb-Peachtree Airport (PDK) in Atlanta, Georgia. The private pilot and a passenger were not injured. The aircraft was co-owned and operated by the pilot under Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as a personal flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed for the flight, which departed North Perry Airport (HWO) in Hollywood, Florida, at about 0945.
Sequence of Events
The pilot reported being unable to extend the landing gear while on approach to the airport. He declared an emergency and flew north of the airport, where he attempted to use the emergency gear-extension handle to pump the gear down. During this attempt, the pilot noted a large puddle of red hydraulic fluid on the floorboards near the hydraulic pump. Realizing the gear could not be extended, the pilot executed a gear-up landing on runway 21R.
Postaccident Examination
A postaccident examination found that when the emergency hydraulic pump actuator, located between the cockpit seats, was activated, very little hydraulic resistance was felt while pumping the emergency handle. The hydraulic reservoir was nearly empty. Further inspection revealed that, as the emergency handle was activated, hydraulic fluid sprayed from the surface of the aluminum line connecting the emergency handle/pump to the electric hydraulic pump, which is mounted under and behind the instrument panel on the pilot's side. The line, approximately 23 inches long, was protected by plastic sheathing that remained intact. No chafing was observed on the line or adjacent structure. The leaking section was removed and examined under 10x magnification, revealing an area of corrosion and pitting approximately 0.75 inches long covering about half the circumference of the tube.