Accident Summary
On 20 July 2012, a Cessna T210M Turbo Centurion, registration G-BEYV, experienced a landing gear malfunction while approaching Nottingham. The pilot could not lower the main landing gear, leading to a diversion to North Weald Airfield in Essex, where the aircraft landed with the nose gear extended but the main gear retracted. Both occupants evacuated uninjured.
Flight History
The flight departed from Thurrock, Essex, and proceeded uneventfully until the pilot selected the landing gear down near Nottingham. The main gear down-and-locked indication did not appear, and the electric hydraulic pump continued running. After overflying the airfield, ground observers reported that the nose gear appeared down and locked, the main gear doors were open, but the gear remained in the wheel well.
Emergency Actions
The pilot performed the gear extension procedures from the Pilot's Operating Handbook, including using the manual back-up pump, but the main gear stayed up. The passenger, co-owner of the aircraft, added hydraulic fluid to the reservoir, but pumping produced no resistance, indicating no pressure. The crew decided to divert to North Weald, where two low passes allowed tower and fire service personnel to visually assess the gear. Realizing the nose gear could not be retracted, the pilot burned fuel from the right tank to shift the aircraft's balance leftward, and the passenger moved his seat fully aft for easier evacuation after landing.
Landing
With emergency services positioned alongside the runway, the pilot touched down initially on the tie-down hook on the rear fuselage, then lowered the nosewheel. As the aircraft slowed, it tilted left, causing the left wing tip and left horizontal stabilizer to contact the runway. The nosewheel castored to the right, turning the aircraft 180 degrees before it stopped. Both occupants evacuated via the right door without injury. Damage was limited to the gear doors, left wing tip, aileron, and left horizontal stabilizer.
Investigation
Inspection revealed the left main landing gear door hydraulic actuator had its piston pushed out of the actuator body, which would allow fluid to escape. It was not determined whether this failure occurred in flight or during the ground slide. The main gears remained engaged with the uplocks. The probable cause was either an in-flight loss of hydraulic fluid via the door actuator or elsewhere, or an internal failure of the hydraulic pump. The manual back-up system was ineffective because it relies on fluid in the system. Notably, Cessna 210 series aircraft from 1979 onward used a modified hydraulic system without main gear uplocks and doors.