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19970905033209I

Incident · Minor damage
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FAA incident report · Gulstm 500-A · Farmington, NM · September 5, 1997

FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal

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Date
September 5, 1997 · 08:15 local
Place
Farmington, NM
Airport
Four Corners Regional Airport
Phase of flight
Roll-Out (Fixed Wing)
Operating rules
General operating rules (Part 91)
Damage
Minor damage
Aircraft
N6296X
Reported as
Gulstm 500A
People aboard
2
Fatal injuries
0
Pilot’s flight hours
4,000 total1,000 in this make and model100 in the last 90 days
N6296XRegistered now · Aero Commander 500-AS/N 500A-1254-78 · Built 1962Airframe modelAero Commander 500-AEngine modelContinental I0-470 seriesReciprocating

From the FAA’s Accident/Incident Data System (AIDS), through its Aviation Safety Information Portal, as reported. The NTSB investigates accidents separately, and its record of an accident is the fuller one. The aircraft is matched to the registry 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.

What happened

The FAA’s narrative, in sentence case. The FAA writes it in capitals and removes private details.

Narrative: on September 5, 1997, at 8:15 pm MDT, N6296X, an aero commander model 500A, landed at the Farmington, NM, airport while the nose landing gear was not in the down and locked position. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and a flight plan was not filed. The flight originated from tulsa, Oklahoma at 5:12 pm central time. After conducting a comprehensive inspection of N6296X at the incident site, I found that the damage was limited to the nose landing gear steering actuator, hydraulic and fuel lines in the nose landing gear wheel well, the nose landing gear doors, actuating rods, and actuator bell crank, and the nose fuselage skin panel at the aft left corner of the nose wheel well. All damage was minor. When N6296X landed, the nose landing gear was about half way between down and locked and up and locked. The cause was determined to be that the nose steering actuator pin may have been sheered and the actuator dislodged in the nose wheel well. The pilot believes this was due to ground handling by ground personnel before departing tulsa, OK. The nose steering actuator pin may have been sheered during ground handling of the aircraft before departure from tulsa, OK. If so, the actuator may have been dislodged which could have interfered with the nose landing gear movement to the down and locked position. The pilot conducted a reasonable preflight inspection before departure from tulsa, ok and did not detect a problem with the nose gear steering actuator.

As the FAA filed it

NARRATIVE: ON SEPTEMBER 5, 1997, AT 8:15 PM MDT, N6296X, AN AERO COMMANDER MODEL 500A, LANDED AT THE FARMINGTON, NM, AIRPORT WHILE THE NOSE LANDING GEAR WAS NOT IN THE DOWN AND LOCKED POSITION. VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED AND A FLIGHT PLAN WAS NOT FILED. THE FLIGHT ORIGINATED FROM TULSA, OKLAHOMA AT 5:12 PM CENTRAL TIME. AFTER CONDUCTING A COMPREHENSIVE INSPECTION OF N6296X AT THE INCIDENT SITE, I FOUND THAT THE DAMAGE WAS LIMITED TO THE NOSE LANDING GEAR STEERING ACTUATOR, HYDRAULIC AND FUEL LINES IN THE NOSE LANDING GEAR WHEEL WELL, THE NOSE LANDING GEAR DOORS, ACTUATING RODS, AND ACTUATOR BELL CRANK, AND THE NOSE FUSELAGE SKIN PANEL AT THE AFT LEFT CORNER OF THE NOSE WHEEL WELL. ALL DAMAGE WAS MINOR. WHEN N6296X LANDED, THE NOSE LANDING GEAR WAS ABOUT HALF WAY BETWEEN DOWN AND LOCKED AND UP AND LOCKED. THE CAUSE WAS DETERMINED TO BE THAT THE NOSE STEERING ACTUATOR PIN MAY HAVE BEEN SHEERED AND THE ACTUATOR DISLODGED IN THE NOSE WHEEL WELL. THE PILOT BELIEVES THIS WAS DUE TO GROUND HANDLING BY GROUND PERSONNEL BEFORE DEPARTING TULSA, OK. THE NOSE STEERING ACTUATOR PIN MAY HAVE BEEN SHEERED DURING GROUND HANDLING OF THE AIRCRAFT BEFORE DEPARTURE FROM TULSA, OK. IF SO, THE ACTUATOR MAY HAVE BEEN DISLODGED WHICH COULD HAVE INTERFERED WITH THE NOSE LANDING GEAR MOVEMENT TO THE DOWN AND LOCKED POSITION. THE PILOT CONDUCTED A REASONABLE PREFLIGHT INSPECTION BEFORE DEPARTURE FROM TULSA, OK AND DID NOT DETECT A PROBLEM WITH THE NOSE GEAR STEERING ACTUATOR.