N4796KCessna P210N · 1979

On February 9, 2008, about 1845 mountain standard time, a Cessna P210N, N4796K, was substantially damaged when the left main landing gear collapsed during landing roll on runway 24 at the Sky Ranch Airport at Carefree (18AZ), Carefree, Arizona. The commercial pilot, the sole occupant of the airplane, was not injured. The airplane was registered to 96K LLC of Scottsdale, Arizona, and operated by the pilot under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. Night visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed for the cross-country flight that departed from the Telluride Regional Airport, Telluride, Colorado, at 1700.

In a written statement, the pilot reported that after an uneventful flight, he entered the traffic pattern for runway 24 and proceeded to make a "normal left pattern approach." Shortly after landing, during the landing roll, the pilot stated he thought he "had blown the left tire" followed by the airplane settling onto its left side a second or two later. The airplane veered to the left and exited the runway, subsequently coming to rest upright adjacent to the runway.

A Federal Aviation Administration inspector conducted a post accident inspection and reported that the left horizontal stabilizer and elevator sustained substantial damage during the accident sequence. Further examination revealed the landing gear warning horn was found inoperative due to a disconnected cable between the throttle switch and the warning horn. The inspector reported that during the landing gear examination the gear was cycled (with the airplane elevated on jack stands) to the down and locked position and no anomalies were noted.

The reason for the gear collapse is undetermined.