Rockwell 690 N197GB

Summary

On 10 June 2019 at about 22:46 local time, a Rockwell 690 registered N197GB, operated by Ponderosa Aviation, was involved in an accident near Jacksonville, Florida, United States. 3 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

10 June 2019 at 22:46

Classification

Accident

Location

Jacksonville, Florida, United States

Nearest airport

Cecil (VQQ)

Coordinates

30.2189, -81.8772

Aircraft

Rockwell 690

Registration

N197GB

Category

Airplane

Year built

1975

Engines

2

Operator

Ponderosa Aviation

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Fire Fighting

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Lake City → Lake City

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN19LA168

Nobody was injured.

The overstress fracture of the roll pin in the nose landing gear (NLG) spacer assembly which caused interference between the nose wheel actuator rod and the left forward gear door actuating rods preventing the NLG to fully extend into the full down and locked position resulting in a nose gear collapse during landing.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

As the flight crew was returning to the airport for landing after a firefighting reconnaissance flight, the nose landing gear (NLG) was extended but the NLG position light did not illuminate. The flight crew cycled the gear and attempted to troubleshoot but was unable to resolve the problem. The pilot advised the tower controller of the situation and requested that the tower controller and other observers verify the position of the NLG during subsequent low passes. After being twice advised that the NLG appeared to be extended, the flight crew decided to divert to another airport that had crash rescue services. During the landing at the alternate airport, the nose landing gear collapsed, resulting in substantial damage to the fuselage. Examination of the nose landing gear determined that the roll pin in the spacer that connected the nosewheel steering cylinder to the strut had fractured in overstress. After the accident, the NLG was cycled using the gear extension handle in the cockpit, which revealed interference between the nose wheel actuator rod and the left forward gear door actuating rods. This interference likely prevented the nose landing gear from fully extending into the down-and-locked position.  

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.