N6535BCessna T210M · 1978

On August 21, 2023, at 1210 Pacific daylight time, a Cessna T210, N6535B, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Napa, California. The pilot, pilot-rated passenger, and passenger were not injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulation Part 91 personal flight.

According to the pilot, she was repositioning the airplane to Modesto, California, to undergo an annual inspection. After takeoff from Napa County Airport (APC), Napa, California, while climbing to about 3,500 ft mean sea level (msl) the airplane sustained a total electrical failure.

The pilot elected to return to APC. Before landing, the landing gear would not extend normally when commanded due to the loss of electrical power, so the pilot performed a manual gear extension. She said she followed the pilot operating handbook (POH) emergency procedures and pumped the manual gear extension lever up and down more than 55 times (cycles) and felt significant resistance. Partial electrical power was restored to one radio and the pilot was able to communicate with air traffic control. She flew a visual approach to runway 19R, and during the turn to the base leg of the airport traffic pattern the tower controller told her that the gear appeared to be down. The pilot continued to the runway and, during landing, both main landing gear collapsed, resulting in the airplane skidding off the right side of the runway, striking brush, and substantially damaging the right wing and right horizontal stabilizer.

The POH states that gear extension and retraction, wheel well door operation, and up and down lock operation is accomplished by hydraulic actuators powered by an electrically driven hydraulic power pack. The power pack assembly is housed within the control pedestal. Power pack operation is initiated by a landing gear lever and is turned off by a pressure switch. Two-position indicator lights are provided to show landing gear position. The landing gear system is also equipped with a nose gear safety switch, an emergency extension hand pump, and a gear­up warning system.

The Landing Gear Fails to Extend checklist directs the pilot to pump the emergency hand pump “until resistance becomes heavy - about 65 cycles,” and contains the note “It takes about 55 cycles (110 strokes) to extend the gear (light on) and about 10 more (until resistance becomes heavy) to close the gear doors.”

The airplane owner did not respond to requests for investigators to examine the wreckage. He did not submit the National Transportation Safety Board Pilot/Operator Aircraft Accident/Incident Report Form 6120.1or produce the airplane’s logbooks. The owner disposed of the airplane before an examination could be completed. As a result, the electrical and landing gear systems were not examined.