ATL99LA082

The flight departed Wadesboro, North Carolina, en route to Newport News, Virginia, with a planned fuel stop in Ahoskie, North Carolina. Upon arriving in Newport News, the pilot attempted to lower the landing gear and noticed an unsafe landing gear indication. Normal and emergency procedures for retraction of the landing gear were unsuccessful. The pilot elected to divert to Southern Pines, North Carolina. He performed a wheels-up landing on the grass between the two runways and during landing rollout, the aircraft impacted a ditch. An examination of the airplane revealed that the strap bracket assembly was missing the nut that attaches it to the main landing gear spring attachment bracket. As a result, the left landing gear had come loose and reversed direction, preventing the landing gear from fully extending and locking in the down position.

On May 8, 1999, at 1730 eastern daylight time, a Piper PA-24-250, N7001P, collided with a ditch during a wheels-up landing at the Moore County Airport in Southern Pines, North Carolina. The personal flight was operated by the pilot under the provisions of Title 14 CFR Part 91 with a VFR flight plan filed. Visual weather conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The private pilot and the passenger/pilot were not injured; the airplane sustained substantial damage. The flight originated from Tri-County Airport in Ahoskie, North Carolina, at 1400.

According to the pilot, the flight departed Wadesboro, North Carolina, at 1200 on the day of the accident, with a final destination of Newport News, Virginia. They landed at Tri-County Airport at 1215 for a planned refueling stop. Upon arriving in Newport News at 1445, the flight entered visual traffic for a full stop landing on runway 25 and received a clearance to land. While turning onto a left base, the pilot lowered the landing gear handle and noticed an unsafe landing gear indication. He notified the tower that the aircraft's landing gear did not fully extend, and he requested to perform a go around.

The pilot completed the emergency landing gear manual extension procedure, but was unsuccessful in lowering the landing gear. The pilot notified the tower of his intention to divert to Southern Pines, where he knew there was a grass strip on which to land. At the time, the aircraft had over two and a half hours of fuel remaining, and the pilot wanted to deplete as much fuel as possible prior to landing. While en route to Southern Pines, the pilot was able to retract the landing gear by reattaching the gear motor arm and raising the landing gear electronically. Upon arrival at Southern Pines, he again attempted to extend the landing gear but was unsuccessful. The pilot performed a wheels-up landing on a grass strip between the two runways. During the landing rollout, the aircraft impacted a ditch.

Following the accident, an inspection was performed on the landing gear by an FAA inspector. The examination revealed that the strap bracket assembly was missing the nut that attaches it to the main landing gear spring attachment bracket. The left landing gear had come loose and reversed direction, preventing the landing gear from fully extending and locking in the down position.