# NTSB NYC00LA046: Cessna 210L, N1773X, Columbus, OH, December 4, 1999 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: December 4, 1999, 14:07 local (19:07 UTC) - Place: Columbus, OH - Coordinates: 40.120296, -83.029991 (estimated) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=40.1203&lon=-83.0300&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Landing](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/550) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 2 uninjured - Status: Completed, report November 30, 2000 - Report: Approved by Office Director - NTSB case key (mKey): 47873 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=NYC00LA046 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/47873/pdf - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/NYC00LA046 ## Probable cause The pilot's failure to verify landing gear extension. Factors were the unreliable retraction/extension assembly, and the flying club's continued operation of the airplane with known deficiencies in the equipment. ## Sequence of events In NTSB's coding before 2008 (https://www.ntsb.gov/GILS/Documents/codman.pdf). - Wheels up landing, landing - landing gear,normal retraction/extension assembly - unreliable (contributing factor) - gear extension - not verified, pilot in command (cause) - operation with known deficiencies in equipment - continued, other institution (contributing factor) ## Analysis The pilot positioned the landing gear selector to the 'DOWN' position, saw the nose gear extended in a mirror, and landed on the runway. During the landing, the main landing gear collapsed, the airplane skidded, and came to rest on the runway. Before the landing, the pilot did not confirm the green landing gear light was illuminated. He heard a horn before landing, but thought it was a stall warning horn. Examination of the wreckage by a Federal Aviation Administration Inspector revealed that the landing gear motor circuit breaker was in the tripped position. According to the pilot, the motor would occasionally overheat. The president of the flying club would ask pilots to keep landing gear cycles to a minimum. Because of the past problems with the motor, the landing gear was kept primarily in the extended position during the pilot's two instructional flights prior to the accident flight. The pilot had never heard the landing gear warning horn prior to the accident flight. ## Factual narrative On December 4, 1999, about 1407 Eastern Standard Time, a Cessna 210L, N1773X, was substantially damaged while landing at Ohio State University Airport (OSU), Columbus, Ohio. The instrument rated private pilot and passenger were not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and an instrument flight rules flight plan was filed for the personal flight conducted under 14 CFR Part 91. The local flight departed OSU about 1245. The pilot stated that he practiced several instrument procedures, which included two cycles of the landing gear, then returned to OSU. He positioned the landing gear selector to the "DOWN" position, saw the nose gear extended in a mirror, and landed on Runway 26. The main landing gear collapsed, the airplane skidded approximately 150 feet, and came to rest on the runway. The pilot added that he heard a horn just before touchdown, but thought it was a stall warning horn. Additionally, he could not be certain that the "...green (landing gear) light was on." In retrospect, he believed the main landing gears partially extended, but were forced back into a retracted position upon landing. The pilot stated that in the past, he had been told by the president of the flying club that the landing gear motor occasionally overheated. The president would ask that the gear not be cycled too often. The pilot completed two flights in the airplane with a flight instructor, prior to the accident. During those two flights, the landing gear was kept in the extended position because of the past problems with the motor. He was never exposed to the sound of the landing gear warning horn during his two instructional flights. The accident flight was his first flight in the airplane as pilot-in-command. A Federal Aviation Administration Inspector examined the wreckage. He observed damage to the horizontal stabilizer, fuselage, right wing, and nose landing gear. The Inspector also observed the landing gear motor circuit breaker in the tripped position. He added that the problem with the landing gear motor was unable to be reproduced during the last annual inspection, which was performed about 4 months prior to the accident. The airplane was returned to service.. The president of the flying club stated that the motor was tested after the accident, and the problem could not be reproduced. The motor was shipped to the manufacturer for examination and overhaul. He added that the Landing Gear Warning System could be checked before each flight by retarding the throttle to idle and depressing the green gear-down position indicator half way in. After the accident, the warning system was checked and no discrepancies were found. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N1773X](https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N1773X-2009-09-30), registration cancelled 2009-09-30, S/N 21060794, built 1975 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: Cessna 210L - Registry model: [Cessna 210L](https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-210l) (registry code 2073448) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Continental IO-520 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-io-520-series) (registry code 17032, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 21060794 - Airframe hours: 3436 - Engines: Continental IO-520 300 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Personal, Part 91 - Operator: National Flyers Association - Registered owner: Frank Metzger - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal - Last inspection: Annual, August 19, 1999, 130 hours before - Departed: OSU - Flight plan: IFR - Airport: OSU, Ohio State University, runway 27L, 5,004 × 100 ft, asphalt ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 49; private; airplane ratings: single-engine land; instrument ratings: airplane; medical: class 2, valid medical--w/ waivers/lim; seat: left; flight hours: 375 total, 22 in this make and model, 288 as pilot in command, 11 in the last 90 days, 4 in the last 30 days, 1 in the last 24 hours ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: 220° at 11 knots - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: 2,300 ft broken - Temperature: 59 °F, dew point 52 °F - Altimeter: 30.00 inHg - Observed at: OSU ## 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 19991204045709A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/19991204045709A), Dec 4, 1999: Cessna 210L, Columbus, OH, No damage. (-23)On dec. 4, 1999, at 1407 EST, a Cessna 210L, N1773X, was substantially damaged while landing on runway 27 at the (osu) Columbus, Ohio airport. VMC… 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.