History of the Flight
On 12 February 2021 at 1310 UTC, a Piper PA-44-180 twin-engine monoplane, registration G-BGCO, was conducting a routine local flight in the Warton area. During recovery to the airfield, the pilot selected the landing gear down. The main landing gear legs indicated locked with green lights, but the nose landing gear showed an unsafe indication. The pilot followed the Pilot's Operating Handbook checklist, including recycling the gear and changing indicator bulbs, without resolution. The pilot then recycled the gear using varying positive and negative g-forces; on each occasion, the nosewheel appeared fully down but the unsafe indication remained. The aircraft was flown past the ATC tower for external observation, which confirmed the nose gear appeared down. The emergency down lever was pulled, but indications still showed the main gear locked and the nose gear not locked.
Diversion and Landing
After consultation with a factory test pilot at Warton via radio, the pilot decided to divert to Blackpool Airport where suitable engineering facilities were available. The aircraft landed on Runway 10 at Blackpool. On touchdown, the nose landing gear collapsed, and the aircraft came to rest with its nose on the ground. Both engines, both propellers, and the nose landing gear sustained damage. The pilot vacated the aircraft via the cockpit door and was uninjured.
Technical Information
The aircraft was recovered to maintenance facilities at Blackpool. When on jacks, the emergency system was reset and the gear raised. On the first attempt to lower using battery power, the main gear locked but the nose gear indicated unsafe. A second attempt with a ground electrical supply resulted in correct lowering. During a test of the emergency system (gravity and spring assist), the nose gear did not travel from the raised position. Significant force was required by a maintenance engineer to pull the nosewheel down, and the pivot bolt joining the upper and lower drag link assemblies could not be removed. The operator was aware of previous incidents involving distortion or failure of this bolt. The damage was assessed as beyond economic repair, so no further technical investigation was conducted.
Conclusion
The source states: "It is likely that damage to the pivot bolt in the nose landing gear was sufficient to restrict movement and prevent the nose landing gear locking down."