Ce560 flight crew experiences an unsafe gear indication during approach and goes around. Attempts to use the emergency gear extension system are unsuccessful but secondary indications are that the gear is down. An uneventful landing ensues with a tow to the ramp.
Synopsis
Ce560 flight crew experiences an unsafe gear indication during approach and goes around. Attempts to use the emergency gear extension system are unsuccessful but secondary indications are that the gear is down. An uneventful landing ensues with a tow to the ramp.
Narrative
The pilot flying called for gear down. I selected the gear handle down but the right-hand gear light did not illuminate. We asked for a go around to sort out the problem. They climbed us to 2;000 FT and we passed over the airport so they could check if our gear appeared to be down. They said it did appear down. We went through the 'gear will not extend checklist'. As the checklist states I pulled the T-handle and tried to rotate it to lock; it would not rotate and therefore would not lock in the extended position. I tried different forces and different positions to lock this T-handle but was not successful. I held this handle extended to be able to pull the blow down knob but the blow down knob would not move. My guess is the T-handle must be locked to be able to pull the knob. We finished the checklist and also checked the gear horn warnings by slowing below 150 KTS with the power below 70% N2. We also selected the flaps to 35 and still didn't hear the gear horn. This made us feel relatively confident the gear was down and locked. We declared an emergency and asked for the longest runway. We got vectors around and landed without any incident. We stopped on the runway and were towed off and back to the FBO without any other incident.
Second reporter narrative
I was pilot in command; and I was flying from the right seat. When we put the gear down for landing; the right main gear indicator light did not show a green light. We executed a go-around and asked the Tower to look at our right gear as we flew by. He stated that it appeared to be down. We then entered a holding pattern and executed the 'Landing Gear Will Not Extend' emergency checklist. We suspected the indicator light was burned out for two reasons. First; the red 'GEAR UNLOCKED' light was not on indicating an agreement between the gear handle position and actual gear status; and; secondly; there was no aural gear warning horn when the flaps were more than 15 degrees down. When we executed the emergency checklist; however; we were unable to put the emergency gear extension T-handle in the locked position. It would fully extend; but it would not rotate clockwise 45 degrees. Several attempts were made and varying lengths of extension were tried; but they were all unsuccessful. Since the T-handle would not lock; we were also unable to pull the round knob to release nitrogen bottle pressure for emergency extension. We notified the company about our problem; explained the situation to our passengers; and then coordinated for an emergency landing and left the holding pattern. The landing and rollout were uneventful. We stopped straight ahead on the runway and were towed to the FBO. The emergency gear extension system should be thoroughly examined to determine why it malfunctioned. A simple gear light bulb failure may have revealed a larger problem.
Source: NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System (public domain). Reports are voluntary submissions and are not verified by NASA.