N9468TCessna 210

On November 27, 2022, about 1430 central standard time, a Cessna 210 airplane, N9468T, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Waco, Texas. The pilot and two passengers were not injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight.

The pilot reported that shortly after takeoff the airplane felt “sluggish,” so she looked out the window at the mirror on the wing and noticed the main wheels were retracted but the nose gear was partially extended. The right seat passenger, who was also a pilot, stated that he also observed that the nose gear was partially extended. The pilot recycled the landing gear and the three landing gear wheels retracted; the flight continued to the destination. The airplane owner, who was seated in the rear seat, reported that the gear only partially came up because the pilot moved the gear handle to the neutral position before the gear completed the retraction process.

As the airplane neared the destination airport, the pilot entered the traffic pattern and lowered the landing gear. The pilot stated that the gear-down indication light was green, which indicated that the gear was in the down and locked position, and confirmed the gear was down by looking at the mirror on the wing. The passengers also confirmed that the gear was down and locked. The pilot turned the airplane onto final approach, reduced engine power, and lowered the flaps. The right seat passenger reported that the approach was “normal.” The pilot stated that the airplane touched down on the main wheels followed by the nosewheel; however, upon touchdown of the nosewheel, the nose gear did not feel “locked into place and felt spongey.” The airplane bounced and the propeller struck the ground. The rear seat passenger reported that he thought the approach looked low, and the pilot seemed flustered. He also reported that the nose was low, and the pilot did not flare when she came over the numbers, which led to the nosewheel contacting the runway before the main landing gear. The rear seat passenger reported the airplane bounced and porpoised multiple times before coming to rest upright on the runway.

Initially this accident was classified as an incident due to the lack of reported substantial damage, and the airplane was released and sold for salvage. Upon being notified by the owner of reported additional damage several months later, the airplane was examined after the airplane had been partially disassembled. Due to the partial disassembly, the airplane landing gear system was compromised and could not be functionally tested. The examination revealed substantial damage to the fuselage bulkhead because the nose landing gear retract arm was pulled and separated from the bulkhead.