N4602SCessna TR182 · 1979

On July 7, 2014, at 1726 central daylight time, a Cessna TR182, N4602S, experienced a landing gear collapse during landing at Wichita Mid-Continent Airport (ICT), Wichita, Kansas. The airplane sustained substantial damage. Both pilots were uninjured. The airplane ownership was transferred on the day of the accident to N&M Aviation LLC and operated by the pilot under the provisions of 14 CFR Part 91 as an instructional flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The local flight was not operating on a flight plan and originated from ICT at 1659.

The airplane was purchased about 30 minutes before the flight by N&M Aviation LLC, which was owned by the pilot and another individual. As part of an insurance requirement, the pilot was to receive a checkout with a flight instructor prior to flying the airplane.

The flight instructor stated that he met three individuals in the lobby of a fixed base operator at ICT, one of one which was the pilot and the other was the previous airplane owner. They told the flight instructor that the insurance company requested that one of them fly with a flight instructor for a brief familiarization flight before flying the airplane home.

The pilot stated that he conducted a preflight with the previous airplane owner in order to gain his insights into checking the airplane systems. The pilot stated that the airplane's preflight was normal including the subsequent engine start and run-up. During the initial climb, the pilot retracted the landing gear and the "green down" light extinguished, but the amber "gear up" light did not illuminate. The right main and nose landing gears remained in down and the sound of the gear motor operating was continuous. They performed the emergency procedures for "gear fails to retract" without effect. Attempts to manually pressurize the hydraulic system and apply positive g-loading using "abrupt maneuvers" had no effect in locking the gear down. The pilot then performed an approach to a land on runway 19L (7,301 feet by 150 feet, grooved concrete) using a soft field technique on runway 19L. During the approach, the pilot was advised by the air traffic control tower that the right main landing gear did not "look quite right" and was also advised by pilot of an airplane holding short of runway 19L that the left main landing gear "really looked bad." Shortly after touchdown, the left main landing gear started to collapse as the airplane yawed right, dropping the left wing. The airplane sustained damage to the left horizontal stabilizer/elevator, the empennage bottom, and the left main wing tip.

Examination of the airplane by a Federal Aviation Administration inspector revealed that a hydraulic line (part number 52889-4-0102, superseded by part number 53465-3-0102) that attached to the forward left-hand side of the actuator was twisted and ruptured. The hydraulic fluid that leaked from the hose emptied the hydraulic power pack reservoir.

The pilot stated that the most recent maintenance performed on the airplane was to repair to the nose gear landing strut actuating mechanism which had a minor hydraulic leak.

Maintenance to the airplane's landing gear system was last performed by Edwards Jet Center, Billings, Montana. The logbook entry for the maintenance was dated July 2, 2014, at a tachometer time of 30.63 hours, and stated:

"Removed nose landing gear actuator and cleaned. Installed new packings in actuator and installed actuator on aircraft. Safetied hardware as required. Serviced hydraulic power pack with hydraulic fluid. Cycled gear multiple times to purge air from system. Serviced hydraulic power pack again. Ops check and leak check good."

At the time of the accident, the airplane had a tachometer time of 38.07 hours and an airframe total time of 3,157.5 hours.