N5844PPiper PA-24-250

On January 2, 2022, about 1530 central standard time, a Piper PA-24-250 airplane, N5844P, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident at the Grand Forks International Airport (GFK), Grand Forks, North Dakota. The pilot was not injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight.

The pilot reported that the landing gear did not extend properly as he approached the intended destination airport. His attempts to extend the landing manually were not successful and he decided to divert to a tower-controlled airport. The tower controller subsequently confirmed that the landing gear appeared to be “a few inches down from the retracted position” but was not fully extended.

The pilot noted that the airplane was equipped with an aftermarket engine cowling installation with an electrically actuated nose landing gear door system. Before using the emergency gear extension system, the door must be released. The door release lever installed in the cockpit extended about one-half inch before “heavy resistance” was felt. Consultation with a mechanic via the radio and further efforts to fully extend the landing gear were not successful. He executed an emergency gear-up landing. The airframe sustained damage to the lower fuselage during the landing.

A postaccident examination of the landing gear system was performed by Federal Aviation Administration inspectors after the airplane was repositioned to a hangar at the airport. The landing motor jack screw corresponded to the retracted position at the time of the exam. Electrical power did not appear to be reaching the gear extension motor. When the nose landing gear doors were released (opened), the landing gear was able to be extended manually. Although the inspectors confirmed an anomaly with both the primary and secondary extension/retraction systems, they were not able to determine the exact source of the problem.