What happened
On 08 July 2009, a private flight involving a pilot and a passenger was returning to Lanseria aerodrome (FALA) from Rustenburg. While on the left base for runway 06R, the pilot deployed the landing gear at approximately 700 ft AGL. Although the cockpit indicator lights showed three green lights signifying the gear was down and locked, the landing gear collapsed immediately after the nose gear made contact with the runway.
The impact caused the aircraft to skid along the runway surface. The propeller struck the pavement approximately 50 meters past the runway threshold, and the aircraft continued to slide until it came to a stop roughly 236 meters past the threshold. The incident resulted in no injuries to the occupants, though the Jihlavan KP 2U Rapid 200, registration ZU-EUT, sustained minor damage to the propeller, the nose gear linkage, and the engine exhaust manifolds.
The investigation
SACAA AIID investigators examined the aircraft's landing gear extension and retraction system both at the scene and at a maintenance facility. Testing confirmed that the gear operated normally and showed no signs of mechanical malfunction. The investigation also noted that the aircraft's flaps were set to zero during the approach, which meant the cockpit's audio warning horn—designed to alert pilots of gear/flap configuration errors—did not sound.
While the aircraft had undergone a periodic inspection in June 2009, investigators discovered that the aircraft's authority to fly had expired on 01 April 2009.
Findings
- The pilot was flying with a valid private pilot's licence and was properly authorized for the flight.
- The aircraft was operating under a valid aviation training organisation certificate.
- The pilot was performing a flapless landing.
- Mechanical testing of the landing gear system revealed no defects or malfunctions.
- The landing gears were not actually extended prior to landing, despite the pilot's report of green indicator lights.
- The aircraft was operating without a valid authority to fly.