WPR16LA163

NTSB accident investigation · Cessna TR182 · Torrance, CA · August 8, 2016

Accident · No injuriesLimited investigationFinal report
Date
August 8, 2016, 15:08 local (22:08 UTC)
Place
Torrance, CA
Injuries
2 uninjured
Damage
Substantial damage
Phase of flight
Landing
Aircraft
N756FZCessna TR182
Defining event
Landing-flare/touchdown: Landing gear collapse
Weather
Visual (VMC) · Day
Status
Completed · report March 5, 2018
Report
Approved by Office Director
NTSB office
Western Pacific Region
Parties
Federal Aviation Administration
FAA report
20160808017759A
Case key
93806

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

The failure of the right main landing gear to fully extend for reasons that could not be determined because postaccident examination and testing did not reveal any evidence of preimpact mechanical failures or malfunctions that would have precluded normal operation.

Findings · 2

NTSB’s coded findings. Those marked are part of the probable cause; the rest are factors or other findings. Under each, the cases with the same finding.

Not determinedNot determined › Not determined · Unknown/Not determinedCessna TR182: 5 casesAll aircraft: 2,247 casesProbable cause
Landing gear system: main landing gearAircraft › Aircraft systems · MalfunctionCessna TR182: 1 caseAll aircraft: 241 casesProbable cause

Sequence of events

The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event is the one that best describes the accident. Under each, the cases with the same event anywhere in their sequence.

Analysis

During an instructional flight, the flight instructor was demonstrating a normal landing to the pilot under instruction. As the airplane approached the runway, the instructor selected the landing gear down and configured the airplane for the landing. The landing checks were called out, and a landing gear green indictor light was verified, indicating that the landing gear should have been down and locked. The landing flare and initial touchdown were normal. However, shortly after the airplane touched down, it listed right as the right main landing gear (MLG) collapsed. The airplane then entered a 180o skidding turn before coming to a stop. Two witnesses reported seeing the airplane on final approach with its right MLG not fully extended. During a postaccident examination, the airplane was placed on jacks to facilitate a gear-swing test. The MLG were cycled multiple times with no evidence of any preimpact mechanical failures or malfunctions that would have precluded normal operation. Each time the MLG were extended, the landing gear indicator lights inside the cockpit illuminated. The reason for the right MLG's failure to fully extend when the MLG were selected down could not be determined.

Factual narrative

On August 8, 2016, at 1508 Pacific daylight time, a Cessna TR182, N756FZ, experienced a right main landing gear collapse after landing at Zamperini Field Airport (TOA), Torrance, California. The airplane was registered to M and S 182 LLC and operated by Pacific Skies Aviation under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. The certified flight instructor and the commercial pilot undergoing instruction (PUI), were not injured. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the right horizontal stabilizer. The local instructional flight departed TOA about 1338. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan had been filed. The flight instructor reported that he was demonstrating a normal landing to the PUI. As the flight approached the runway, he extended the landing gear and configured the airplane for a normal landing. The landing checks were called out and a green light was verified indicating that the landing gear was extended. The flare and initial touchdown were normal. Shortly after the airplane touched down, the airplane listed to the right. The airplane entered into a 180° skidding turn before coming to a stop. Two witnesses located at the airport reported seeing the airplane on final approach with its right main landing gear not fully extended. A Federal Aviation Administration inspector from the Long Beach Flight Standards District Office reported that when he arrived on site, he observed the airplane on the runway with the nose and left main landing gear down and locked. The right main landing gear was fully retracted. During the recovery process, the airplane was lifted and the right main landing gear freely fell into trail. A mechanic then manually placed the right side gear in the down and locked position. The airplane was lowered onto the landing gear and subsequently towed from the runway to a secured location. During a postaccident examination, the airplane was placed on jacks to facilitate a gear swing test. The landing gear was cycled multiple times with no anomiles noted. The landing gear indicator lights inside the cockpit illuminated during the landing gear extension.

Aircraft

Registration
N756FZ
Reported as
Cessna TR182 (NO SERIES)
Category
Airplane
Serial number
R18201069
Built
1979
Airframe hours
3,730.8
Engine
Lycoming O-540-L3C5D, 235 horsepower, reciprocating
Damage
Substantial damage
Flight
Instructional · Part 91
Operator
Pacific Skies Aviation LLC.
Registered owner
M and S 182 LLC.
Airworthiness certificate
Standard, Normal
Last inspection
100 hour · July 15, 2016
Departed
TOA · Torrance, CA
Destination
TOA · Torrance, CA
Airport
TOA · Zamperini Field, runway 11L, 5,001 × 150 ft, concrete
Equipment
Stall warning system

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 · 2

As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.

Role
Flight instructor
Age
41
Injuries
None
Certificates
Airline transport, Commercial
Airplane ratings
Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
Instrument ratings
Airplane
Medical
Class 3, Without waivers/limitations
Last flight review
July 12, 2016
Seat
Left
Restraint
3-point
Flight hours
9,000 total · 300 in this make and model · 8,700 as pilot in command · 150 in the last 90 days · 50 in the last 30 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
Role
Pilot
Age
20
Injuries
None
Certificate
Commercial
Airplane ratings
Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
Instrument ratings
Airplane
Medical
Class 2, Without waivers/limitations
Last flight review
April 15, 2016
Seat
Right
Restraint
3-point
Flight hours
315.7 total · 127.4 as pilot in command

Weather

Conditions
Visual (VMC) · Day
Wind
270° at 9 knots
Visibility
10 statute miles
Lowest ceiling
None
Temperature
82 °F, dew point 64 °F
Altimeter
29.80 inHg
Observed at
KTOA

Docket · 9

The files NTSB released with the investigation on January 5, 2018, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 5.2 MB 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.