Piper PA 24-250 N5966P

Summary

On 6 September 2014 at about 19:26 local time, a Piper PA 24-250 registered N5966P was involved in an accident near Mesa, Arizona, United States. 2 people were on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

6 September 2014 at 19:26

Classification

Accident

Location

Mesa, Arizona, United States

Nearest airport

Falcon Fld (FFZ)

Coordinates

33.4608, -111.7286

Aircraft

Piper PA 24-250

Registration

N5966P

Category

Airplane

Year built

1959

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Nephi → Mesa

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

WPR14LA368

Nobody was injured.

The failure of the right main landing gear (MLG) transmission mounting bracket coupled with the differential rigging of the two landing gear cables, which prevented the right MLG from moving to the down-and-locked position before landing.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

The airline transport pilot reported that, during the approach to land, the right main landing gear (MLG) would not extend and lock, and the locked gear-down position would not illuminate. The pilot attempted to manually extend the gear and get it to lock without success. The pilot then conducted a normal landing, and during the rollout, the right MLG collapsed. Examination of the airplane revealed that the two landing gear cables were rigged slightly differently and that the right bracket that connected the landing gear transmission to the airframe was broken off. Examination of the break with a magnifying glass revealed that it likely had not occurred recently. With the airplane on jacks and the landing gear cables disconnected, the MLG successfully locked down, and the MLG could be manually returned to the "up" position with no restrictions. The airplane experienced a gear-up landing 13 years before the accident, and it is likely that the differential rigging of the two gear cables had existed since that time and led to the MLG being just on the edge of locking. The broken bracket that connected the MLG transmission to the airframe likely fractured some time before the accident and eventually separated from the airframe. The separation of the right MLG transmission bracket coupled with the differential rigging of the two landing gear cables likely prevented the right MLG from moving over center to the "locked" position and resulted in the gear-up landing.  

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.