# NTSB CHI08LA044: Aero Commander GA-500-B, N444CB, Kansas City, MO, November 15, 2007 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: November 14, 2007, 18:20 local (Nov 15, 2007, 00:20 UTC) - Place: Kansas City, MO - Coordinates: 39.123054, -94.592498 - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=39.1231&lon=-94.5925&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Landing](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/550) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 1 uninjured - Status: Completed, report May 28, 2008 - Report: Approved by Office Director - Parties: Kansas City FSDO - NTSB case key (mKey): 67249 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=CHI08LA044 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/67249/pdf - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CHI08LA044 ## Probable cause The pilot delayed lowering the landing gear in the landing sequence and the main gear were not in the down and locked position upon touchdown. ## Sequence of events In NTSB's coding before 2008 (https://www.ntsb.gov/GILS/Documents/codman.pdf). - Gear collapsed, landing - gear extension - delayed, pilot in command (cause) - landing gear,main gear - collapsed - On ground/water encounter with terrain/water, landing - terrain condition - runway ## Analysis The pilot reported that he performed the landing checklist while he was on a visual approach following jet traffic to the runway. He lowered the landing gear and flaps, and confirmed that the three green lights illuminated. He reported that the flare and landing were normal, and when the nose gear touched the runway he applied brake pressure. He reported that the "main landing gear collapsed and I could no longer maintain centerline of the runway." The airplane skidded on its belly for about 270 feet. The inspection of the airplane revealed that the left and right main landing gear were folded back with the wheels canted sideways and resting on the runway. The nose gear was in the down position. The landing gear handle was found in the down and locked position. When the master switch was turned on, the nose gear down lock light was on, and the left and right main gear lock lights were not on. The airplane was raised up using a forklift and aircraft jacks. When the main landing gear were free of the runway, both main landing gear locked in place in the down position. When the airplane was lowered onto its main landing gear, the two main landing gear lights illuminated. The propellers had not struck the runway during the accident, so the engines were started and the airplane was taxied back to the operator's hangar. The inspection of the main landing gear revealed that there was no evidence that the airplane's main landing gear lock down mechanism had failed on either the left or right main landing gear. ## Factual narrative On November 14, 2007 at 1820 central standard time, an Aero Commander GA-500-B, N444CB, operated by Central Air Southwest, sustained substantial damage when it experienced a gear collapse upon landing on runway 01 (7,002 feet by 150 feet, concrete) at Charles B. Wheeler Downtown Airport (MKC) in Kansas City, Missouri. The commercial pilot was not injured. The 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 135 cargo flight departed Cahokia Municipal Airport (CPS), Cahokia, Illinois, for MKC at 1630 local time. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident and the flight was on an instrument flight rules (IFR) flight plan. The pilot reported that he performed the landing checklist while he was on a visual approach following jet traffic to runway 01. He lowered the landing gear and flaps, and confirmed that the three green lights illuminated, which indicated that the landing gear were down. He reported that the landing and flair were normal. He reported that he felt the main landing gear touch down on the runway. When the nose gear touched the runway he applied brake pressure. He was preparing to taxi off on Delta taxiway when he heard some loud noises. He reported that the "main landing gear collapsed and I could no longer maintain centerline of the runway." The pilot reported that the distance between where the main gear collapsed and the belly of the airplane started to skid on the ground to where the airplane stopped was about 270 feet. The chief pilot of Central Air Southwest reported that he arrived at the scene of the accident about 1845 to assist with removing the airplane from the runway. The airplane was found with the left and right main landing gear folded back with the wheels canted sideways and resting on the runway. (The main landing gear rotate 90-degrees when they are retracted so they can lie flat in the nacelle wheel wells.) The nose gear was in the down position. The chief pilot verified that the landing gear handle was in the down and locked position. He reported that when he turned the master on, the nose gear down lock light was on and the left and right main gear lock lights were not on. The airplane was raised up using a forklift and aircraft jacks. The chief pilot reported that when the main landing gear were free of the runway, both main landing gear locked in place in the down position. When the airplane was lowered onto its main landing gear, the two main landing gear lights illuminated. The propellers had not struck the runway during the accident, so the engines were started and the airplane was taxied back to the operator's hangar. The inspection of the airplane revealed that there was damage to the airplane's belly stringers and formers that required them to be replaced. An inspector from the Federal Aviation Administration visually inspected the airplane's landing gear. The inspection revealed that one of four clevises were broken where the landing gear actuator attached to the trunion, but there was no evidence that the airplane's main landing gear lock down mechanism had failed on either the left or right main landing gear. A review of the aircraft maintenance records indicated that the last 125-hour inspection under the Approved Aircraft Inspection Program (AAIP) was conducted on October 25, 2007. The main landing gear and the nose landing gear were inspected as part of the 125-hour inspection. A gear retraction test was also conducted during the inspection. The airplane had flown about 67 hours since the inspection. Two rubber bungee shock cords on each main landing gear assist in forcing the drag brace linkage over center to form a positive lock when the gear is extended. The maintenance records indicated that the left and right landing gear bungee shock cords were replaced on April 19, 2007. The operator reported that the airplane was not operated since the accident on November 14, 2007, due to lack of parts, and the operator removed the airplane's engines to be used on other airplanes. The operator reported that no maintenance had been performed on either landing gear. The operator reported that an operational check of the landing gear was conducted in accordance with the 500B Maintenance Manual on February 8, 2008, and the landing gear were found to be operational. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N444CB](https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N444CB), registered now, S/N 500B-1119-69, built 1961 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: Aero Commander GA-500-B - Registry model: [Aero Commander 500-B](https://openairdocs.org/model/aero-commander-500-b) (registry code 0141106) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Lycoming TI0-540 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-ti0-540-series) (registry code 41533, turbo-prop) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 500B-1119-69 - Airframe hours: 2928 - Engines: Lycoming TIO-540 310 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Part 135 - Registered owner: Central Air Southwest - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal - Last inspection: Continuous airworthiness, October 1, 2007, 67 hours before - Departed: CPS, Cahokia, MO - Destination: MKC, Kansas City, MO - Flight plan: IFR - Airport: MKC, Downtown Airport, runway 01, 7,002 × 150 ft, concrete ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 25; injuries: none; commercial; airplane ratings: single-engine land, multi-engine land; instrument ratings: airplane; medical: class 1, with waivers/limitations; last flight review December 1, 2007; seat: left; flight hours: 1,503 total, 219 in this make and model, 1,222 as pilot in command, 219 in the last 90 days, 23 in the last 30 days ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Night - Wind: 320° at 8 knots - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: none - Temperature: 52 °F, dew point 16 °F - Altimeter: 30.14 inHg - Observed at: MKC ## 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 20071114826169A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20071114826169A), Nov 14, 2007: Gulstm 500B, Kansas City, MO, Substantial damage. (-23) The pilot stated that he had extended the landing gear 2 miles south of the mkc airport at 160 mph and 3 green lights were indicated on his final… 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.