FTW97LA111

NTSB accident investigation · Cessna TR182 · Pueblo, CO · March 1, 1997

Accident · No injuriesLimited investigationFinal report
Date
March 1, 1997, 11:55 local (18:55 UTC)
Place
Pueblo, CO
Injuries
2 uninjured
Damage
Substantial damage
Phase of flight
Landing
Aircraft
N2396SCessna TR182
Weather
Visual (VMC) · Day
Status
Completed · report January 7, 1998
Report
Approved by Office Director
FAA report
19970301001989A
Case key
20164

From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.

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Probable cause

Improper repair to the nose landing gear assembly. A factor was binding of the nose gear extension assembly due to the improper repair.

Sequence of events

NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.

Airframe/component/system failure/malfunctionLanding
Landing gear,nose gear assembly - binding(mechanical)Factor
Maintenance,major repair - improperCompany maintenance personnelCause

Analysis

On the first flight following maintenance to the nose landing gear because of a ground incident, the nose gear failed to extend. The pilot elected to raise all the landing gear and land gear up. Inspection following the accident revealed the nose landing gear doors to be improperly adjusted preventing the nose landing gear from extending.

Factual narrative

On March 1, 1997, at 1155 mountain standard time, a Cessna TR182, N2396S, sustained substantial damage when the nose gear failed to extend for landing at Pueblo Municipal Airport, Pueblo, Colorado. The private pilot and passenger were not injured on this personal flight operating under 14 CFR Part 91. No flight plan was filed and visual meteorological conditions prevailed. The flight departed Alamosa, Colorado, at 1115.

This was the first flight after repairing the nose landing gear following a ground incident which occurred on February 21, 1997. The flight departed Alamosa with the pilot occupying the left seat and his 2 year old daughter in a car seat strapped in the right seat. On arrival in Pueblo, the nose gear failed to extend. After attempts to lower the gear failed, the pilot elected to raise the landing gear and landed with all the landing gear in the up position.

Examination of the aircraft by a certified repair station following the accident revealed the nose gear doors were not properly adjusted when maintenance was performed on the landing gear following the previous incident. The lack of proper adjustment prevented the nose landing gear from extending. Aircraft damage was to the left wing and underside of the fuselage in the area of the nose landing gear assembly.

Aircraft

Registration
N2396S
Reported as
Cessna TR182
Category
Airplane
Serial number
R-18201337
Airframe hours
2,031
Engine
Lycoming O-540-L3C5D, 235 horsepower, reciprocating
Damage
Substantial damage
Flight
Personal · Part 91
Operator
Mountain View Aeromotive
Registered owner
Jim & Leslie Flemming
Airworthiness certificate
Standard, Normal
Last inspection
Annual · February 21, 1997 · 1 hours before
Departed
ALS · Alamosa, CO
Destination
PUB
Airport
PUB · Pueblo Municipal, runway 8R, 4,073 × 75 ft, asphalt

Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.

Flight crew

As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.

Role
Pilot
Age
41
Certificate
Private
Airplane ratings
Single-engine land
Medical
Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
Seat
Left
Flight hours
234 total · 70 in this make and model · 190 as pilot in command · 12 in the last 90 days · 1 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours

Weather

Conditions
Visual (VMC) · Day
Wind
Calm
Visibility
10 statute miles
Lowest ceiling
None
Temperature
36 °F, dew point 45 °F
Altimeter
29.00 inHg
Observed at
PUB, 1 nm away

FAA reports on this event · 1

The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.