# Incident 20031222034979I: Cessna 177RG, Mesa, AZ, December 22, 2003

- Type: FAA incident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: December 22, 2003, 12:40 local time
- Place: Mesa, AZ
- Airport: Falcon Field Airport
- Damage: Substantial damage
- Phase of flight: Level Off Touchdown
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 33.4608° N, 111.7283° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs at FALCON FLD (FFZ), within about a mile (OpenAirDocs)
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=33.4608&lon=-111.7283&mi=10
- Aircraft: N1875Q (not matched to a registry record)
- Reported make and model: CESSNA 177RG
- People aboard: 2
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Pilot flight hours: 850 total, 90 in this make and model, 35 in the last 90 days
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20031222034979I

## Narrative

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

(-23) DURING AN INSTRUCTIONAL FLIGHT WITH THE OWNER OF THE INCIDENT AIRCRAFT THE AIRCRAFT EXPERIENCED A FAILURE OF THE NOSE LANDING GEAR. THIS AIRCRAFT HAD JUST RECENTLY BEEN REPAIRED AFTER A NOSE GEAR COLLAPSED AND PROP STRIKE. THE MECHANIC WHO DID THE REPAIRS STATED THAT THE NOSE GEAR WAS NOT DAMAGED DURING THE FIRST PROP STRIKE. WITNESSES AFTER THE LANDING STATED THAT THE LANDING GEAR WAS HOOKED OVER THE CROSS BAR THAT CYCLES THE LANDING GEAR DOOR LEVER. INSPECTION OF THE LANDING GEAR DOORS REVEALED THAT THE TURNBUCKLE FOR THE DOORS WERE MOUNTED ON THE FORWARD FACE OF THE DOOR BRACKETS. WITNESS MARKS ON THE TURNBUCKLE MATCHED MARKS ON THE LANDING GEAR STRUT. WHEN THE LANDING GEAR HUNG ON THE BRACKETS THE GEAR WOULD HAVE EXTENDED PARTLY DOWN. THIS WAS EVIDENT IN THAT THE INSIDE FACES OF THE DOORS WERE DAMAGED FROM CONTACT WITH THE RUNWAY. BECAUSE THE LANDING GEAR WAS PARTIALLY EXTENDED THE SCISSOR BOLT HAD WORN THROUGH DURING THE LANDING SEQUENCE. THIS ALLOWED THE STRUT PRESSURE TO OVER EXTEND THE GEAR AND PUT THE UPLOCK HOOK ON THE LANDING GEAR DOOR CROSS BAR. THIS WAS EVIDENT BECAUSE WITNESSES STATED THAT THERE WAS A PUDDLE OF HYDRAULIC FLUID ON THE GROUND WHERE THE AIRCRAFT STOPPED.

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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