- Date
- January 17, 2003, 14:30 local (22:30 UTC)
- Place
- Everett, WA
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N262AZClassic Fighter Industries ME-262 Reproduction
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report December 30, 2003
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- FAA - FSDO
- FAA report
- 20030117000719A
- Case key
- 56366
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Probable cause
The NTSB’s determination of the probable cause, and any contributing factors.
Failure of the left main gear hydraulic actuator locking slide during landing. Factors include an embankment adjacent to the landing runway.
Analysis
The pilot reported that shortly after touchdown, the left main landing gear collapsed and the aircraft veered to the left, eventually exiting the runway edge and traveling down an embankment that’s adjacent to the runway. Post accident inspection of the aircraft's left main gear hydraulic system revealed that the hydraulic actuator locking slide was undersized which allowed the gear to collapse (unlock) when placed under a load.
Factual narrative
On January 17, 2003, at 1430 Pacific standard time, an experimental ME 262 reproduction, N262AZ, sustained substantial damage following a gear collapse during the landing rollout at Snohomish County Airport (Paine Field), Everett, Washington. The airline transport pilot-in-command was not injured. The airplane is owned by a private party and was being operated as a visual flight rules (VFR) post production test flight under Title 14, CFR Part 91, when the accident occurred. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and a flight plan had been filed for the local test flight that originated from Paine Field approximately 30 minutes prior to the accident.
During a telephone conversation with the Investigator-In-Charge (IIC), the pilot reported that he experienced a problem with the airplane's landing gear and utilized the emergency gear extension system (nitrogen blow-down) to lower the gear. The pilot stated that after activating the system, the landing gear extended and the green gear down indicator lights illuminated.
After successfully lowering the gear, the pilot initiated a landing at the departure airport. He reported that shortly after touchdown, the left main landing gear collapsed and the aircraft veered to the left, eventually exiting the runway edge and traveling down an embankment that's adjacent to the runway.
Post accident inspection of the aircraft's left main gear hydraulic system revealed that the hydraulic actuator locking slide was undersized which allowed the gear to collapse (unlock) when placed under a load. See attached report for additional information.
During the accident sequence, the airplane sustained substantial damage to the fuselage.
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.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N262AZ
- Reported as
- Classic Fighter Industries ME-262 Reproduction
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 501241
- Airframe hours
- 2
- Engine
- General Electric J85-17A, 2,850 lbs thrust, turbo jet
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Flight test · Part 91
- Operator
- Wolfgang Czaia
- Registered owner
- Lou Werner
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- AAIP · November 19, 2002 · 2 hours before
- Departed
- PAE · Everett, WA
- Destination
- PAE · Everett, WA
- Flight plan
- VFR
- Airport
- PAE · Snohomish County (Paine Fld), runway 34, 9,000 × 150 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
- 62
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Airline transport
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, With waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- March 23, 2002
- Seat
- Front
- Flight hours
- 25,600 total · 1 in this make and model · 21,500 as pilot in command · 1 in the last 90 days · 1 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 10° at 7 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 45 °F, dew point 36 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.34 inHg
- Observed at
- KPAE
Docket · 2
The files NTSB released with the investigation on November 13, 2003, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 428 KB in all.
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.