Introduction
On 23 April 2011, at 1815 hours UTC, a Piper PA-23-250 Aztec, registration N40267, sustained damage during a landing accident at Virgin Gorda Airport, British Virgin Islands. The aircraft was operated on a commercial air transport (non-revenue) flight with a single pilot and no passengers. The pilot, holding a Commercial Pilot's Licence with 4,500 hours total experience (200 on type), was uninjured.
Event
The pilot selected the landing gear down and observed three green landing gear position lights, indicating that all gear appeared down and locked. A normal landing was performed on Runway 03. As the aircraft decelerated, the landing gear warning horn sounded. The aircraft subsequently rolled to the left until its left wing and propeller contacted the runway surface. The aircraft skidded for a further 100 feet before coming to rest on the left side of the runway. The pilot shut down the engine and vacated the aircraft without injury.
Damage
The damage comprised the underside of the left wing, left flap, landing gear doors, left propeller, left main landing gear, and its actuator.
Investigation
Examination revealed that the left main landing gear actuator had failed in overload. It is likely that the left main landing gear was not fully locked down before landing, which resulted in the actuator being subjected to excessive loads that caused it to fail. The investigation did not determine why the left landing gear was not fully locked down.