Incident Summary
On July 9, 2014, at 16:25 local time (21:25 UTC), an Antonov AN26 B aircraft, registration HK4728, operated by Aerolínea del Caribe S.A. (AERCARIBE S.A.), sustained a serious incident during landing at Alberto Jaramillo Sánchez Aerodrome (SKOT) in Remedios, Antioquia, Colombia. The aircraft was conducting a non-regular cargo transport flight from José María Córdoba International Airport (SKRG) with four crew members onboard and 4,000 kg of explosive material (Anfo). The landing was executed on runway 35 under visual meteorological conditions.
During the landing roll, after both main landing gear and the nose gear had touched down, the nose gear inadvertently and progressively retracted. This caused the forward fuselage to contact and scrape along the runway surface. The pilot-in-command maintained directional control using brakes and ordered the copilot to shut down engines, apply wheel chocks, and feather propellers. The aircraft slid approximately 300 meters, losing rudder effectiveness, and veered left, coming to rest with the left main gear and nose gear retracted about 2 meters off the runway edge.
All four crew members evacuated without injury. There was no post-impact fire.
Factual Information
Aircraft Information
- Make and Model: Antonov AN26 B
- Serial Number: 8205
- Registration: HK4728
- Year of Manufacture: 1979
- Total Flight Hours: 24,760:53
- Last Maintenance: July 5, 2014
The aircraft had undergone scheduled 900-hour maintenance from May to June 2013, which included non-destructive inspections of nose gear components. Unscheduled maintenance following an incident on June 7, 2014, at San José del Guaviare involved additional inspections of nose gear attachments. A successful test flight was conducted on July 7, 2014.
Crew Information
- Pilot-in-Command: Age 31, holding a PTL license, with 5,284:27 total flight hours (1,423:24 on type). Last proficiency check on December 23, 2013.
- Copilot: Age 25, holding a PCA license, with 2,408:49 total hours (1,223:24 on type). Last proficiency check on September 3, 2013.
Both crew members had completed recurrent training in dangerous goods, crew resource management (CRM), and aircraft-specific courses.
Injuries and Damage
All four crew members were uninjured. The aircraft sustained substantial damage to the forward lower fuselage, radome, nose gear doors, support mechanisms, hydraulic and pneumatic lines, and the nose gear downlock mechanism.
Investigation Findings
The investigation determined that the serious incident resulted from the action of inertial forces that unlocked the nose landing gear downlock mechanism, causing its retraction.