Ellington Field Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Houston, Texas 77034
Thursday, July 8, 2010 20:06 CDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

During approach, the pilot moved the landing gear position handle to the down position, the hydraulic gear motor started, and the landing gear started to extend. The pilot did not receive a green gear down indicator light, and he visually confirmed that the landing gear did not appear to be fully extended. The pilot completed a number of checklist items including a "G maneuver." All attempts to extend the landing gear did not work, so the pilot prepared for a gear-up landing. During touchdown, the left main landing gear and the nose landing gear remained extended but the right main landing gear collapsed, and the airplane veered off the right side of the runway. The mechanism for landing gear extension and retraction in the airplane is accomplished by hydraulic actuators powered by an electrically driven hydraulic power pack or by use of an emergency extension hand pump. During the postaccident examination of the hydraulic system, a hydraulic line for the landing gear was found separated from its respective fitting, which would have resulted in a loss of hydraulic pressure. The separated line and adjacent wheel well area were found saturated with hydraulic fluid. The manufacturer’s maintenance manual requires that all rubber hydraulic lines should be replaced each 1000 hours or 5 years. During a review of the airplane’s maintenance records, there were no annotation found that indicated that rubber hydraulic lines has been replaced within the manufacturer’s recommended interval.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The failure of a hydraulic fluid line, which caused a loss of hydraulic pressure to the landing gear extension system and resulted in the partial collapse of the right main landing gear during touchdown.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 7/8/2010
Event Day of the Week Thursday
Time of Event 2006
Event Time Zone Central Daylight Time
Event City Houston
Event State TEXAS
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 77034
Event Date Year 2010
Event Date Month 7
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 293616N
Event Location Longitude 0950919W
Event Location Airport Ellington Field Airport
Event Location Nearest Airport ID EFD
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport On Airport
Distance from airport in statute miles 0
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation 32
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1950 Central Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 360
Weather Observation Facility ID EFD
Elevation of weather observation facility 32
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 0
Time Zone of the weather observation CDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 12000
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 3500
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Few
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling Broken
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 28
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 26
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 100
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 8
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29.97
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report METAR KEFD 082250Z 08006KT 10SM FEW035 BKN120 BKN2
Event Highest Injury None
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None 1
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 29534
NTSB Notification Source FAA Regional Communications Ce
NTSB Notification Date --
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information --
Date of most recent change to record Apr 18 2012 3:06PM
User who most recently changed record johb
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N2157S
NTSB Number CEN10LA389
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 135: Air Taxi & Commuter
Type of Flight Plan filed IFR
Flight plan Was Activated? Yes
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name CESSNA
Aircraft Model 210
Aircraft Series Identifier L
Aircraft Serial Number 21061118
Certified Max Gross Weight 3800
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class --
Aircraft is a homebuilt? No
Flight Crew Seats 2
Cabin Crew Seats --
Passenger Seats --
Total number of seats on the aircraft 2
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Retractable
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection 100 Hour
Date of Last Inspection Jul 8 2010 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours 5969
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type C91-A
Aircraft Owner Name GARY W RICHEY
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City CASTROVILLE
Aircraft Owner State TX
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 78009-5301
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name AIR TRANSIT SOLUTIONS LLC
Operator Same as Owner? No
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? No
Operator Street Address 10560 AIRPORT RD
Operator City CASTROVILLE
Operator State TX
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 78009-5301
Operator Code Y5TA
Owner has at least one certificate Yes - certificate holder
Other Operator of large aircraft? No
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation --
Operator Certificate Number Y5TA923J
Indicates whether an air carrier operation was scheduled or not Non-scheduled
Indicates Domestic or International Flight Domestic
Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail Cargo
Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) --
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event No
Departure Airport Code CVB
Departure City Castroville
Departure State TX
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1700
Departure Time Zone CDT
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code EFD
Destination City Houston
Destination State TX
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight --
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Dec 30 2011 12:18PM
User who most recently changed record latt
Since inspection or accident Last Inspection
Event Location Runway Number and Location 17R
Runway Length 9000
Runway Width 150
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --