What happened
On April 9, 2010, a Cessna 210, registration PT-DSO, was performing a repositioning flight from Santa Genoveva Airport (SBGO) to the National Aviation Aerodrome (SWNV) in Goiânia, Brazil. The flight was operated by a private pilot.
During the initial approach to runway 13, the pilot performed a landing attempt but executed a go-around after noticing the nose of the aircraft was descending more than expected. On the subsequent landing attempt, although the cockpit indicators showed the nose gear was down and locked, the gear retracted upon touchdown. This caused the propeller to strike the runway surface, resulting in the nose of the aircraft dragging along the pavement for several meters. The aircraft sustained light damage, and the pilot was uninjured.
The investigation
CENIPA investigators examined the nose gear assembly and identified a structural failure within the actuator. While the cockpit's micro-switches and electrical indicators were functioning correctly—providing a green light to signify the gear was locked—the mechanical locking mechanism failed.
Technical analysis of the nose gear actuator shaft revealed that the component had previously suffered bending due to an overload. This deformation led to fatigue failure under alternating stress, eventually causing the shaft to rupture. The investigation noted that the aircraft's maintenance logs showed no record of any previous hard landings or abnormal impacts that could have caused such an overload. Furthermore, the aircraft was removed from the scene prior to the arrival of investigators, which prevented the assessment of the cockpit controls and instruments immediately following the event.
Findings
- The nose gear retracted because the actuator shaft ruptured, preventing the gear from mechanically locking in the down position.
- The primary cause of the component failure was a previous overload that bent the actuator shaft, which was not reported or recorded in the aircraft's logbooks.
- The pilot's failure to report or identify a prior hard landing or abnormal impact prevented the detection of the structural damage before it reached a critical state.