7 Oct 2019: HONDA AIRCRAFT HA-420 — Pro by Air

7 Oct 2019: HONDA AIRCRAFT HA-420 — Pro by Air

No fatalities • Charleston, SC, United States

Probable cause

Ground personnel’s use of an improper towbar adapter lug, which prevented the nose landing gear from extending.

— NTSB Determination

Accident narrative

On October 7, 2019, about 0830 eastern daylight time, a Honda, HA-420, H166HJ, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Charleston, South Carolina. The airline transport pilot and four passengers were not injured. The airplane was operated by Pro by Air, as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 executive/corporate flight. The pilot stated that, during the landing approach, he moved the landing gear handle to the DOWN position. The main landing gear indicator was green, but the nose landing gear indicator was yellow; followed by an unsafe audible alarm indicating that the gear was unsafe. The pilot aborted the approach and requested a tower flyby, during which the tower reported that the, “doors did not look right.” The pilot attempted to cycle the gear twice, but was not able to resolve the issue. The pilot declared an emergency and performed the emergency gear extension checklist, after which the gear lights indicated that the two main landing gear were extended and locked; however, the nose landing gear indicator light was red. After performing the emergency gear extension, the pilot received a warning message about the gear doors. The pilot performed a normal approach and landing and the airplane slid to a complete stop on the runway. The pilot and all passengers deplaned on the runway and waited for emergency services. An examination of the airplane by a Federal Aviation Administration inspector revealed substantial damage to the fuselage. Further examination revealed that the pressure vessel was damaged as a result of the gear-up landing. The airplane was recovered to a hangar for further examination by the FAA and representatives of the Honda Aircraft Company. A towbar adapter lug was discovered inside of the nose wheel axle assembly. The towbar adapter lug was removed, and the length and width dimensions of the adapter lug was documented along with its part number (P228). The adapter lug was compared to the chart of the original equipment manufacturer (OEM), Brackett Aircraft Company Inc. The adapter lug was not a Honda Aircraft part, nor was it the OEM specified lug for the accident airplane. A witness mark was discovered on the top surface of the door and at the bottom of the nose landing gear bay. The clearance between the nose landing gear door and the nose landing gear axle without the discovered adapter lug inserted measured approximately 11/16-inch. The adapter lug was reinserted into the nose wheel gear axle assembly with approximately 1.5 inches of the adapter lug extending from the axle assembly. There was a considerable negative clearance between the fuselage and the adapter lug. A representative for the fixed based operator (FBO) who performed ground handling on the airplane stated that they use pin adapters when connecting the nose wheel to the towbar, because the wheel hubs are too small for the universal towbar hookup.

Contributing factors

  • Ground crew
  • Malfunction

Conditions

Weather
IMC, wind 030/07kt, vis 10sm

Loading the flight search…

What you can do on Flight Finder

  • Search flights between any two airports with live fares.
  • By aircraft — pick a plane model (e.g. Boeing 787, Airbus A350) and see every route it flies from your origin.
  • Route map — click any airport worldwide to explore its destinations, or draw a radius to find nearby airports.
  • Global aviation safety — aviation accident database, 5,200+ records since 1980, with map and rankings by aircraft and operator.
  • NTSB safety feed — recent U.S. aviation accidents and incidents from the official NTSB CAROL database, updated daily.

Frequently asked questions

How do I search flights by aircraft type on FlightFinder?

Pick an aircraft model — Boeing 737, Airbus A320, A380, Boeing 787 Dreamliner and more — enter your origin airport, and FlightFinder shows every route that plane flies from there with live fares.

Which aircraft types can I filter by?

We support Boeing 737/747/757/767/777/787, the full Airbus A220/A319/A320/A321/A330/A340/A350/A380 family, Embraer E170/E175/E190/E195, Bombardier CRJ and Dash 8, and the ATR 42/72 turboprops.

Is FlightFinder free to use?

Search and schedules are free. Pro ($4.99/month, $39/year, or $99 one-time lifetime) unlocks the enriched flight card — on-time stats, CO₂ per passenger, amenities, live gate & weather — plus My Trips with push alerts.

Where does the route data come from?

Live schedules come from Amadeus, AeroDataBox and Travelpayouts. Observed routes (which aircraft actually flew a given city pair) are crowdsourced from adsb.lol ADS-B data under the Open Database License.