Incident Overview
An aircraft was en route from Richmond, Virginia, to Linden, New Jersey, when the crew reported technical problems to air traffic control. Specifically, the pilots indicated that they were unable to lower the landing gear. In response, ATC cleared the aircraft to divert to Langley Air Force Base for an emergency landing.
Emergency Landing
Upon arrival at Langley AFB, the runway was foamed in preparation for the landing. The aircraft touched down on its belly, sliding along the foamed surface before coming to rest. All 28 occupants on board were evacuated safely without reported injuries.
Aftermath
The aircraft sustained substantial damage during the belly landing and was declared damaged beyond repair. The incident prompted an investigation to determine the cause of the landing gear failure.
Probable Cause and Contributing Factors
The official investigation identified the probable cause as a wheels-up landing resulting from a malfunction of the landing gear mechanism. Contributing factors included improper maintenance by maintenance personnel, failure of the landing gear mechanism, material failure due to corrosion, a suspected mechanical discrepancy, numerous aircraft maintenance discrepancies, a broken uplock cable, and emergency system pressure that was too low.