# NTSB WPR13LA319: Cessna T210K, N272EF, Phoenix, AZ, July 4, 2013 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: July 3, 2013, 20:00 local (Jul 4, 2013, 03:00 UTC) - Place: Phoenix, AZ - Coordinates: 33.301944, -111.655281 - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=33.3019&lon=-111.6553&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Landing](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/550) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Defining event: [Landing-landing roll: Landing gear collapse](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/094) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 1 uninjured - Status: Completed, report June 11, 2014 - Report: Approved by Office Director - NTSB office: Western Pacific Region - Parties: Federal Aviation Administration - NTSB case key (mKey): 87434 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=WPR13LA319 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/87434/pdf - NTSB docket: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=87434 - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/WPR13LA319 ## Probable cause The collapse of the left main landing gear due to a broken gear tooth in the landing gear actuator. ## Findings NTSB's coded findings; those marked are part of the probable cause. - [Landing gear system: landing gear actuator](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01023233): Aircraft › Aircraft systems · Failure (probable cause); cases with it: [Cessna T210K, 2 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01023233/cases.md?model=2073447), [All aircraft, 54 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01023233/cases.md) ## Sequence of events The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event best describes what happened. - [Landing-landing roll: Landing gear collapse](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/094) (defining event); cases with it: [Cessna T210K, 2 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/094/sequence.md?model=2073447), [All aircraft, 1,787 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/094/sequence.md) ## Analysis The pilot reported that, when he put the landing gear handle down, the left main landing gear did not indicate that it was locked. He cycled the landing gear several times in an attempt to get it down and locked before landing. During the landing, the left main landing gear collapsed, and the left horizontal stabilizer and elevator were substantially damaged. Disassembly of the left main landing gear actuator revealed that a gear tooth from the piston assembly had broken off, which prevented the left main landing gear from locking in the down position. The reason for the gear tooth failure could not be determined. ## Factual narrative On July 3, 2013, about 2000 mountain standard time, a Cessna T210K, N272EF, sustained substantial damage when the left main landing gear collapsed while on landing roll at Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport, Phoenix, Arizona. The private pilot, the sole occupant of the airplane, was not injured. The pilot/owner was operating the airplane under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the personal cross-country flight, which had originated at 1825 from Falcon Field Airport, Mesa, Arizona. A flight plan had not been filed. The pilot reported that he had put the landing gear down, but the left main landing gear down-and-locked light did not indicate that it was safely locked. After several attempts to get the left main landing gear safely down and locked, the pilot landed the airplane, and the left main landing gear collapsed. The left horizontal stabilizer and elevator were bent and wrinkled. In the presence of a Federal Aviation Administration inspector, on August 22, 2013, the left main landing gear actuator assembly was disassembled. A broken gear tooth from the end to the piston assembly was found. This tooth was responsible for the final "down lock" of the left main gear. The assembly operated properly in the "up and locked" position, which the pilot verified occurred with each cycling of the landing gear. The failed tooth was not made available for further examination and the failure mode was not determined. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N272EF](https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N272EF-2018-03-21), registration cancelled 2018-03-21, S/N 21059302, built 1970 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: CESSNA T210K - Registry model: [Cessna T210K](https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-t210k) (registry code 2073447) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Continental IO-520 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-io-520-series) (registry code 17032, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 21059302 - Year built: 1970 - Airframe hours: 8191 - Engines: Continental TSIO-520-C 310 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Personal, Part 91 - Operator: NN9402M Aviation LLC - Registered owner: NN9402M Aviation LLC - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal - Last inspection: Annual, December 11, 2012, 82 hours before - Departed: FFZ, Mesa, AZ - Destination: IWA, Phoenix, AZ - Airport: IWA, Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport, runway 30L, 10,401 × 150 ft, concrete ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 48; injuries: none; private; airplane ratings: multi-engine land, single-engine land; instrument ratings: airplane; medical: class 3, with waivers/limitations; last flight review February 26, 2013; seat: left; flight hours: 766 total, 62 in this make and model, 696 as pilot in command, 38 in the last 90 days, 1 in the last 24 hours ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Dusk - Wind: 260° at 6 knots - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: 23,000 ft broken - Temperature: 106 °F, dew point 48 °F - Altimeter: 29.63 inHg - Observed at: PHX, 19 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 (OpenAirDocs). - [Accident 20130703013289A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20130703013289A), Jul 3, 2013: Cessna T210K, Mesa, AZ, Substantial damage. Pilot was flying aircraft from kffz to kchd. Upon landing into chandler it was noted that the left gear would not transition to down and lock. After several… ## Other investigations on N272EF (1) 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. - [NTSB WPR17FA045](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/WPR17FA045), Jan 2, 2017: Cessna T210K (N272EF), Payson, AZ, destroyed, 4 fatal. Probable cause: The non-instrument-rated pilot's improper decisions to begin and to continue a flight under visual flight rules into instrument meteorological conditions, which resulted in controlled flight into… ## Docket (3 files) The files NTSB released with the investigation on May 27, 2014, on NTSB's docket system: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=87434. 1.3 MB in all. - Pilot/Operator Aircraft Accident Report, NTSB Form 6120.1 (item 1, .PDF, 799 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40412706&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Pilot%2FOperator%20Aircraft%20Accident%20Report,%20NTSB%20Form%206120.1-Redacted.PDF - FAA Tear Down Report of Actuator (item 2, .PDF, 50 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40412707&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=FAA%20Tear%20Down%20Report%20of%20Actuator%20-Redacted.PDF - Cessna Illustrated Parts Catalog - Main Actuator (item 3, .PDF, 462 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40412708&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Cessna%20Illustrated%20Parts%20Catalog%20-%20Main%20Actuator-Master.PDF 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.