CE560 flight crew experienced an unsafe landing gear indication during approach and executes a go-around. Emergency gear extension procedures do not change the indication. The crew elected to divert to a longer runway and lands safely after declaring an emergency.
Synopsis
CE560 flight crew experienced an unsafe landing gear indication during approach and executes a go-around. Emergency gear extension procedures do not change the indication. The crew elected to divert to a longer runway and lands safely after declaring an emergency.
Narrative
On the final approach we lowered the gear handle and the gear failed to give 'three green' indication. The right main gear light failed to illuminate. After testing the light and placing a phone call to the Assistant Chief Pilot; we began to complete the emergency gear extension checklist. That was unsuccessful; so we declared an emergency and elected to land at nearby ZZZ International and did so uneventfully. In training; with this emergency; we are trained to follow the abnormal/emergency checklist. In the SIM; requires that we always blow the gear down where we always get three green lights. What happened in this case is that we did not get three green lights. In our situation; the issue became what to do; if you do NOT get three green lights? As any crew would do; we relied on our experience. Lastly at the end of the checklist for this issue; it says '...three green lights; checklist complete.' There is NO checklist for the 'Gear did not extend' or any contingency plan.I feel we handled this situation safely; professionally and adequately. We were on day 6 of 7 of a very busy week and near hour 13 of this day. It was late at night with a severe line of thunderstorms on our tail. Fortunately we were still at the top of our game and I can see how it could have been easy for a tired or lesser experienced crew to have compounded this problem by having no complete checklist or training to rely upon for this specific type of problem. It was amazingly distracting with the gear horn going off almost the whole time; flaps; and other audible warnings. There was nothing else we could do; as a crew; to handle this situation any better. We used good judgment; good CRM; we communicated well in the cockpit as well as with the passengers. I would like urge our company and Cessna to address this critical safety item in a timely manner by bring light to this situation.
Second reporter narrative
On final approach the right main landing gear failed to extend to the lock position. We executed a go around and requested a vector from Approach. I remained at the controls and took the radios while the Captain ran the checklist for 'gear will not extend'. After running the checklists we still had the same cockpit indication that the right main was not locked down. We then declared an emergency with Approach and requested vectors to an airport that could accommodate a low approach and visual confirmation of the gear position from the ground; we where vectored for the low approach. The ground crews in ZZZ1 informed us that the gears appeared to be down. Upon completion of the low approach and go around from ZZZ1 we were vectored to ZZZ. The Captain re-briefed the passengers the emergency items and brace command for our landing. We landed and came to a stop and shutdown on the runway; not wanting to taxi off and side load the landing gear; since we still had the indication that the right main was unlocked. We were met on the runway by the airport fire/rescue vehicles. The passengers were bused to the FBO and the aircraft was towed back to the FBO by FBO personnel.The events in this report are due to a mechanical malfunction rather than a crew or pilot error. The only thing that might be improved upon would be the simulator training scenarios. In all similar training scenarios that I can recall; the gear always comes down and locked after running the checklist. It might be helpful in future scenarios to have the gear not come down or indicate not locked down; as in our situation.
Source: NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System (public domain). Reports are voluntary submissions and are not verified by NASA.