What happened
On November 25, 2000, a Beech 58 (registration ZS-FBT) was conducting a private flight from St. Francis Bay to Port Elizabeth Airport. As the pilot prepared for arrival on Runway 26, the landing gear was deployed. The cockpit instrumentation provided a green light indication, signaling that the gear was down and locked, and the pilot confirmed the nose gear position via the cockpit mirror.
However, the left-hand main landing gear failed to deploy. During the landing roll, the aircraft's left wing descended until the left propeller struck the runway surface. This impact caused the aircraft to veer left from the runway centerline, eventually coming to a stop on the grass adjacent to the runway. There were no injuries reported among the five occupants on board.
The investigation
The investigation focused on why the landing gear indication suggested a successful deployment when the left-hand main gear remained retracted. Investigators examined the mechanical state of the landing gear assembly and the cockpit signaling system to determine why the pilot received misleading information regarding the gear status.
Findings
- The primary cause of the incident was a seized uplock roller on the left-hand main landing gear.
- This mechanical seizure prevented the uplock mechanism from releasing, which in turn prevented the left-hand main gear from extending into the locked position.
- The pilot was unaware of the failure due to the misleading green indication light.