What happened
On 31 January 2026, a private flight departed from Port Alfred Aerodrome (FAPA) bound for Grahamstown Aerodrome (FAGT) in the Eastern Cape. The pilot was operating a Cessna C210A, registration ZS-SOK, under visual meteorological conditions.
During the approach to Runway 16, the pilot performed the pre-landing checklist and moved the landing gear lever to the down position. Although the pilot observed that the gear appeared to be down, the green cockpit indication light failed to illuminate. In an attempt to troubleshoot, the pilot cycled the gear lever to the up position, noting that all three gears retracted and the red 'gear up' light activated. When the pilot moved the lever to the down position a second time, the green indication light remained unlit.
Despite the lack of cockpit confirmation, the pilot proceeded to land. Upon touchdown on the main gear, the nose gear collapsed. This caused the aircraft's nose to pitch forward, resulting in the propeller blades striking the asphalt runway. The aircraft skidded along the surface before coming to a stop. There were 0 fatalities and no injuries to the pilot, though the aircraft sustained minor damage to the propeller, engine nacelle, and gear doors.
The investigation
SACAA AIID investigators examined the aircraft's mechanical state following the incident. Maintenance engineers inspected the nose landing gear wheel well and identified structural damage. The investigation established that the nose gear keel (trunnion support) had been twisted, likely as a result of previous hard landings. This structural deformation prevented the nose gear up-lock hook from releasing, which stopped the gear from transitioning to the down and locked position.
Findings
- The primary cause of the incident was that the nose landing gear up-lock hook failed to disengage after the pilot selected the down position.
- A twisted nose gear keel, caused by prior hard landings, physically obstructed the gear's deployment.
- The aircraft's maintenance records showed a recent 100-hour inspection had been completed approximately 2.7 hours prior to the flight.