What happened
On December 8, 2021, a Piper PA 34-200T Seneca, registration HK5136G, was performing a private flight from Bogotá to Popayán, Colombia. The flight proceeded normally until the aircraft landed on runway 26 at Guillermo León Valencia Airport at approximately 11:50 local time.
During the landing roll, as the pilot applied the brakes to decelerate, the nose landing gear unexpectedly retracted. This caused the nose of the aircraft to strike the runway surface, leading the plane to slide approximately 15 meters along the pavement. The impact caused the engines to stop abruptly and resulted in damage to the propeller blades and the lower fuselage. All three occupants (the pilot and two passengers) evacuated the aircraft on their own and were uninjured.
The investigation
The investigation conducted by the DIACC focused on the mechanical integrity of the landing gear assembly. Investigators examined the nose gear components and found that the upper and lower linkage bars were not in their correct, secured position. While the aircraft's maintenance records indicated that all scheduled services were up to date, the investigation revealed a latent failure in the gear's alignment.
Technical analysis showed that the linkage and regulation bar of the nose gear's torque link guide had misaligned. This misalignment, combined with the forces applied during deceleration, led to the fracture of the security bar, which allowed the gear to retract unexpectedly.
Findings
- The primary cause of the incident was the fracture of the nose landing gear linkage and regulation bar due to component fatigue and misalignment.
- A contributing factor was the lack of sufficiently detailed inspection processes and maintenance alerts capable of detecting subtle misalignments or fatigue in these specific components, especially considering the operational stresses placed on the gear.
- The aircraft sustained significant damage to the propellers, the nose section, and the forward cargo compartment.