What happened
On 7 March 2011, a Piper PA-34-200T Seneca II, registration G-BTGV, was conducting a training flight at Gloucestershire Airport. The aircraft had traveled from Oxford for a skills test, and the flight was performing circuits for a student pilot's commercial license. During a touch-and-go approach on Runway 09, the pilot executed a touchdown described as slightly flat and firm. Immediately following this contact with the runway, the nose landing gear retracted without warning. This caused the nose of the aircraft to drop, leading the propellers to strike the runway surface. The aircraft subsequently came to a halt, and both occupants evacuated the aircraft without injury.
The investigation
Following the incident, investigators examined the aircraft's nose landing gear assembly. They found that the upper eye end of the downlock link had been severely distorted. This distortion caused damage to the front bulkhead, likely as a result of the drag brace folding during the collapse. The investigation considered whether the collapse was caused by an 'out-of-rig' condition or damage from a previous heavy landing. While the aircraft had undergone a 100-hour inspection approximately 28 flight hours prior to the accident, the exact state of the gear rigging at the time of the incident was a key focus of the inquiry.
Findings
- The accident was caused by the uncommanded retraction of the nose landing gear.
- The investigation could not definitively attribute the collapse to a single factor, but noted the possibility of damage from a prior heavy landing affecting the mechanism.
- The aircraft type has a documented history of nose landing gear collapses, though recent service bulletins have aimed to reduce the frequency of such events.
- The investigation noted that the integrity of the nose landing gear depends heavily on accurate rigging of the downlock mechanism.