# Incident 19970905033209I: Gulstm 500A, Farmington, NM, September 5, 1997

- Type: FAA incident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: September 5, 1997, 08:15 local time
- Place: Farmington, NM
- Airport: Four Corners Regional Airport
- Damage: Minor damage
- Phase of flight: Roll-Out (Fixed Wing)
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 36.7413° N, 108.2299° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs at FOUR CORNERS RGNL (FMN), within about a mile (OpenAirDocs)
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=36.7413&lon=-108.2299&mi=10
- Aircraft: N6296X, registered now (https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N6296X) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Aero Commander 500-A (registry code 0141104, https://openairdocs.org/model/aero-commander-500-a) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Continental I0-470 series (registry code 17027, https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-i0-470-series) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: GULSTM 500A
- People aboard: 2
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Pilot flight hours: 4,000 total, 1,000 in this make and model, 100 in the last 90 days
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19970905033209I

## Narrative

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

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.

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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