What happened
On 22 March 2000, a Cessna 310Q, registration G-AZYM, was returning to Gamston Airport in Nottinghamshire following a flight from Rotterdam. The flight proceeded without incident, and the pilot maintained contact with air traffic control at Waddington before approaching Gamston.
During the landing sequence, the pilot performed all standard checks, including verification of the landing gear position, and reported that the process was normal. The aircraft touched down on Runway 03 at the correct position. As the aircraft was decelerating toward the runway exit, the pilot experienced a sudden jerk as the nose landing gear collapsed. The aircraft came to a rapid halt. While performing emergency shutdown procedures for the fuel and electrical systems, the pilot observed that the landing gear selector lever was positioned above the down detent.
The investigation
Following the accident, investigators examined the landing gear retraction system. Although the extent of the damage precluded a complete functional test, the system was found to be structurally intact with no evidence of mechanical malfunction.
Investigators also inspected the aircraft's 'D' doors and the access step located at the wing-fuselage junction. The 'D' doors, which are designed to close only after the main landing gear has been retracted, remained undamaged. Furthermore, the step, which is mechanically linked to the main gear retraction mechanism, showed no signs of impact. The lack of damage to these components suggested that the main landing gear had not collapsed during the forward motion of the aircraft.