# Incident 19940312012479I: Amtrbd BEDEBD5J, El Centro, CA, March 12, 1994

- Type: FAA incident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: March 12, 1994, 12:25 local time
- Place: El Centro, CA
- Damage: Minor damage
- Phase of flight: Roll-Out (Fixed Wing)
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 32.7864° N, 115.5602° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs: center of El Centro, CA, within about 6 miles (OpenAirDocs)
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=32.7864&lon=-115.5602&mi=10
- Aircraft: N53EJ, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N53EJ-2013-07-30) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Zivko William BD 5J (registry code 11307P5, https://openairdocs.org/model/zivko-william-bd-5j) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Micro TRS-18 series (registry code 43901, https://openairdocs.org/engine/micro-trs-18-series) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: AMTRBD BEDEBD5J
- People aboard: 1
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Pilot flight hours: 8,400 total, 100 in this make and model, 12 in the last 90 days
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19940312012479I

## Narrative

As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^.

ON MARCH 12, 1994, AT APPROXIMATELY 1225 PST, DAVID HARRIS LANDED ON RUNWAY 30, NAVAL AIR FACILITY, EL CENTRO, CALIFORNIA, IN N53FJ, A ZIVKO WILLIAMS MODEL BD55 AMATEUR-BUILT AIRCRAFT. UPON TOUCHDOWN, THE LANDING GEAR COLLAPSED. THE AIRCRAFT CAME TO REST ON ITS LOWER SIDE, CAUSING DAMAGE TO THE LOWER SURFACE OF THE FUSELAGE. HARRIS, THE SOLE OCCUPANT, WAS NOT INJURED. NO FIRE RESULTED. PILOT REPORTED THAT THE CABLE FROM THE GEAR SELECTOR HANDLE TO THE TRICYCLE GEAR HAD COME OFF OF A LARGE PULLEY LOCATED BELOW AND AFT OF THE GEAR SELECTOR. THE GEAR IS OPERATED MANUALLY. THE CABLE WRAPS APPROXIMATELY 1 1/2 TURNS AROUND THE PULLEY. THERE ARE NO PULLEY GUIDES INSTALLED AROUND THIS PULLEY WHICH WOULD PREVENT CABLE FROM COMING OFF. FURTHER INVESTIGATION BY OWNER/OPERATOR DETERMINED THAT A PIECE OF PLASTIC LIKE MATERIAL FROM THE EXTERNAL POWER PLUG IN (DUST COVER) WAS FOUND INSIDE FUSELAGE AREA. THIS PIECE HAD BECOME HOOKED ON THE PULLEY ASSEMBLY AND A RETRACT EXTEND LINKAGE. WHEN POSITIONING THE GEAR TO A DOWN POSITION, THIS PIECE WOULD STRETCH AND EXERT PRESSURE TO RETRACT THE GEAR. THIS RAPID FORCE CAUSED THE CABLE TO JUMP OFF THE PULLEY ASSEMBLY. LANDING GEAR-DOWN LOCK WARN ING SYSTEM INDICATES GREEN AS SOON AS ANY DOWN TRAVEL IS SENSED. THERE ARE NO SWITCHES FOR FULLY DOWN INDICATIONS.

From the FAA Accident/Incident Data System. Reports are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. For accidents, the NTSB's own investigation is the fuller record.

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