# NTSB ANC04LA011: Cessna 402, N402ET, Galena, AK, November 13, 2003 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: November 13, 2003, 16:49 local (20:49 UTC) - Place: Galena, AK - Coordinates: 64.736114, -156.937225 - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=64.7361&lon=-156.9372&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Approach](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/500) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 2 uninjured - Status: Completed, report June 2, 2004 - Report: Approved by Office Director - NTSB office: Alaska Regional Office - Parties: FAA-AL-FAI FSDO 01 - NTSB case key (mKey): 58405 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=ANC04LA011 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/58405/pdf - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ANC04LA011 ## Probable cause Water contamination and freezing of the landing gear actuator that prevented the extension of the right main landing gear, resulting in a gear-up landing. Factors contributing to the accident were freezing temperatures at the accident location, and inadequate maintenance/servicing of the landing gear system by company maintenance personnel. ## Sequence of events In NTSB's coding before 2008 (https://www.ntsb.gov/GILS/Documents/codman.pdf). - Airframe/component/system failure/malfunction, approach - hydraulic system,actuator - contamination,water (cause) - maintenance,service of aircraft/equipment - inadequate, company maintenance personnel (contributing factor) - hydraulic system,actuator - frozen (cause) - weather condition - temperature,low (contributing factor) - Wheels up landing, landing - roll - terrain condition - runway ## Analysis The airline transport certificated pilot was preparing to land a multiengine, retractable gear airplane, and as he lowered the landing gear, he did not receive a cockpit indication that the right main landing gear was extended. The pilot performed the emergency gear extension procedures, including the use of the emergency blow-down system, but the right main gear failed to extend. The pilot then landed with the left main landing gear and nose gear extended, and during the landing roll, shutdown the right engine. As the airplane slowed, the right wing and fuselage contacted the runway surface. A postaccident examination of the airplane revealed scraping/scuffing damage to the underside of the right wing and aileron. The right main landing gear strut was fully compressed. The gear extension and retraction components appeared to be undamaged. The operator's maintenance personnel reported that proposed repairs to the airplane included removal and replacement of the right wingtip, aileron and flap, and patching of fuselage skin. An FAA inspector reported that during further examination of the landing gear, the right gear hydraulic actuator was found contaminated with water. The temperature at the accident location was -2 degrees F. The FAA inspector indicated the actuator was probably frozen. ## Factual narrative On November 13, 2003, about 1649 Alaska standard time, a Cessna 402 airplane, N402ET, sustained substantial damage during landing with the right main landing gear retracted at Galena, Alaska. The airplane was being operated as a visual flight rules (VFR) positioning flight under Title 14, CFR Part 91, when the accident occurred. The airplane was operated by Arctic Circle Air Service, Fairbanks, Alaska. The airline transport certificated pilot, and the sole passenger/airline employee, were not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and a VFR flight plan was filed. The flight originated at the Nulato Airport, Nulato, Alaska, at 1605. During a telephone conversation with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigator-in-charge (IIC), on November 13, the director of operations for the operator reported that the flight departed Nulato and was en route to Galena for fuel as a portion of a positioning flight to Fairbanks. The director of operations said that as the flight approached Galena, the pilot lowered the landing gear, but he did not receive a cockpit indication that the right main landing gear was extended. The pilot performed the emergency gear extension procedures, including the use of the emergency blow-down system, but the right main gear failed to extend. The pilot then landed on runway 25 at Galena with the left main landing gear and nose gear extended, and during the landing roll, shutdown the right engine. As the airplane slowed, the right wing and fuselage contacted the runway surface. On December 1, 2003, the NTSB IIC inspected the airplane at the operator's maintenance facility in Anchorage, Alaska. The examination revealed scraping/scuffing damage to the underside of the right wing and aileron. The right main landing gear strut was fully compressed. The gear extension and retraction components appeared to be undamaged. The operator's maintenance personnel reported that proposed repairs to the airplane included removal and replacement of the right wingtip, aileron and flap, and patching of fuselage skin. During a telephone conversation with the NTSB IIC on February 26, 2004, a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector from the Flight Standards District Office (FSDO), Fairbanks, Alaska, reported that examination of the right landing gear hydraulic actuator revealed contamination of the internal hydraulic fluid. The inspector reported that the contamination appeared to be water. No other landing gear discrepancies were found. The temperature at Galena at the time of the accident was -2 degrees F. The inspector indicated that the landing gear actuator was probably frozen. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N402ET](https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N402ET-2012-11-27), registration cancelled 2012-11-27, S/N 402C0054, built 1979 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: Cessna 402 - Registry model: [Cessna 402C](https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-402c) (registry code 207590R) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Continental TSIO-520 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-tsio-520-series) (registry code 17040, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 402C0054 - Airframe hours: 13916 - Engines: Continental TSIO-520VB1F 325 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Positioning, Part 91 - Operator: Arctic Air Service Inc. - Registered owner: Arctic Air Group Inc. - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal - Last inspection: AAIP, November 4, 2003, 33 hours before - Departed: NUL, Nulato, AK - Destination: PAGA, Galena, AK - Flight plan: VFR - Airport: PAGA, Galena, runway 25, 7,254 × 150 ft, asphalt ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 56; injuries: none; airline transport, commercial; airplane ratings: single-engine land, multi-engine land; instrument ratings: airplane; medical: class 1, valid medical--w/ waivers/lim; last flight review May 26, 2003; seat: left; flight hours: 11,115 total, 4,750 in this make and model, 11,089 as pilot in command, 311 in the last 90 days, 91 in the last 30 days, 5 in the last 24 hours ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Dusk - Wind: calm - Visibility: 7 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: none - Temperature: -2 °F, dew point -8 °F - Altimeter: 29.59 inHg - Observed at: PAGA ## FAA reports on this event (1) The FAA's own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date (OpenAirDocs). - [Accident 20031113028199A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20031113028199A), Nov 13, 2003: Cessna 402C, Galena, AK, Minor damage. (-23) Gear unsafe light. Attempted normal and emergency procedures including blow down without success. Low on fuel and daylight, landed rwy 25, settled on… ## Other investigations on N402ET (2) 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 ANC07LA021](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ANC07LA021), Feb 20, 2007: Cessna 402C (N402ET), Cordova, AK, substantial damage. Probable cause: The failure of the right main landing gear linkage during the landing roll, which resulted in a loss of directional control and the collapse of the right main landing gear. A factor associated with… - [NTSB ANC00LA061](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ANC00LA061), May 22, 2000: Cessna 402C (N402ET), Cordova, AK, substantial damage. Probable cause: An in-flight collision with a bird. 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. --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.