Cessna 177 N2112Q

Summary

On 14 November 2015 at about 17:30 local time, a Cessna 177 registered N2112Q was involved in an accident near Palm Springs, California, 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

14 November 2015 at 17:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Palm Springs, California, United States

Nearest airport

Palm Springs Intl (PSP)

Coordinates

33.8314, -116.5092

Aircraft

Cessna 177

Registration

N2112Q

Category

Airplane

Year built

1974

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Palm Springs → Hemet

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

GAA16CA074

Nobody was injured.

The failure of a shaft seal at the nose gear retraction/extension actuator, which resulted in a loss of hydraulic fluid and a main landing gear collapse during landing.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot reported that during the takeoff initial climb, after the landing gear was retracted, the landing gear's hydraulic pump electric motor continued to run, even though the landing gear appeared to be fully retracted, as viewed in the landing gear mirror. The pilot then attempted to extend the landing gear normally, but the landing gear would not indicate down and locked. Subsequently, for over an hour, the pilot attempted to manually extend the landing gear, using the emergency manual gear extension hand pump, but he could see in the mirror that the landing gear was only partially extended. During the subsequent emergency landing, the main landing gear collapsed and the airplane skidded to a stop on the runway. The right stabilator sustained substantial damage. A postaccident examination revealed that the landing gear system was empty of hydraulic fluid. After the system was serviced with hydraulic fluid and operated, a leak was found at the nose gear actuator due to the failure of a shaft seal. The tests revealed that the landing gear extension process could not be completed, and the manual landing gear pump did not have sufficient fluid remaining to extend all three landing gear. The airplane logbooks revealed no records of service to the nose gear actuator and shaft seal and each were the original manufactured parts.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.