# Incident 20161204018929I: Embraer ERJ 170-200 LR, San Antonio, TX, December 4, 2016

- Type: FAA incident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: December 4, 2016, 14:55 local time
- Place: San Antonio, TX
- Damage: Minor damage
- Phase of flight: Landing: Rollout
- Operating rules: Air carrier (Part 121)
- Operator: SWIA
- Location: 29.5314° N, 98.4683° W: From the FAA
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=29.5314&lon=-98.4683&mi=10
- Aircraft: N161SY, registered now (https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N161SY) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Embraer ERJ 170-200 LR (registry code 3260410, https://openairdocs.org/model/embraer-erj-170-200-lr) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: GE CF34-8E5 (registry code 30061, https://openairdocs.org/engine/ge-cf34-8e5) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: EMBRAER ERJ 170-200 LR
- People aboard: 55
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Other injuries: 3
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB ENG17IA005](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ENG17IA005) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20161204018929I

## Narrative

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

SKYWEST 494J DEPARTED HOUSTON (IAH) TO MONTERREY MEXICO (MTY). WHILE ON FINAL AT MTY, PILOT DECLARED AN EMERGENCY WITH AN UNSAFE GEAR INDICATION. (AT CLIMB OUT FROM IAH, THE CREW REMEMBERED HEARING A LOUD THUD THAT CAME FROM UNDER THE CAPTAINS AREA). PILOT OPTED TO GO TO SAN ANTONIO INTERNATIONAL (SAT) AND LAND AIRCRAFT. DURING ROLLOUT ON RUNWAY 04 THE NOSE GEAR COLLAPSED.  3 MINOR ANKLE INJURIES REPORTED AFTER PASSENGERS WERE EVACUATED USING SLIDE.

THE AIRCRAFT WAS RAISED USING AIR BAGS PLACED AFT OF THE NOSE LANDING GEAR AREA. WHEN THE AIRCRAFT WAS HIGH ENOUGH FOR THE NOSE GEAR TO LOCK OVER-CENTER, MAINTENANCE PERSONNEL OBSERVED THAT THE #1 NLG DOWNLOCKING SPRING  (PART # 170-70700-403) WAS BROKEN, THE UPPER PORTION OF THE BROKEN SPRING JAMMED THE SYSTEM FROM OPERATING AS DESIGNED. IT KEPT THE DOWN LOCK LINK FROM COMING OVER-CENTER (DOWN AND LOCKED). MAINTENANCE PERSONNEL HAD TO PRY THE BROKEN SPRING FROM ITS WEDGED POSITION TO ALLOW THE DOWN LOCK LINK TO GO OVER-CENTER. AIRPLANE STILL HAD 1 HOUR 25 MINUTES LEFT OF FUEL AT TIME OF LANDING. THERE WAS NO POST CRASH FIRE.

THE AIRPLANE SUSTAINED DAMAGE TO THE FORWARD SECTION OF THE NOSE LANDING GEAR AREA, SEVERAL LINKS ATTACHED TO THE NOSE LANDING GEAR DOOR MECHANISM WERE BROKEN. #2 ENGINE NACELLE SUSTAINED SOME DAMAGE TO THE BOTTOM PORTION CLOSE TO THE 6 O'CLOCK POSITION. SERIAL NUMBER ON SPRING 1618731/012; EMBRAER PROVIDED ENGINEERING TECHNICAL DATA (ETD) ON PART NUMBER AND IS WORKING ON A REVISION FOR THE AIRCRAFT ILLUSTRATED PARTS CATALOG (AIPC). RECOMMEND SKYWEST AIRLINES TO SUBMIT MALFUNCTION OR DEFECT REPORT.

## The NTSB's investigation of this event (1)

From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.

- [NTSB ENG17IA005](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ENG17IA005), Dec 4, 2016: Embraer ERJ170 200LR (N161SY), San Antonio, TX, incident, minor damage. Probable cause: A failure of the nose landing gear down lock spring which precluded normal downlock operation of the nose landing gear. The spring failure was due to the presence of too much retained austenite which…

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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