John Wayne Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Santa Ana, California 92707
Friday, January 21, 2011 13:57 PST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot reported that, when he put the landing gear down, he did not receive an indication in the cockpit that the nosewheel was engaged. He recycled the landing gear but still did not receive an indication that the gear was engaged. He then flew by the air traffic control tower and the controller reported that the landing gear appeared to be down; however, on the landing roll, the left main landing gear collapsed. A postaccident examination of the airplane revealed that components of the main landing gear retraction system lacked recent lubrication. The grease fittings on the components had been painted over, and there was no evidence of grease on the movable parts. The landing gear’s ball joints and movable surfaces all appeared to be dry. The lack of lubrication prevented the left main landing gear from locking in the down position, resulting in its collapse during the landing roll.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The failure of the left main landing gear due to the lack of lubrication.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 1/21/2011
Event Day of the Week Friday
Time of Event 1357
Event Time Zone Pacific Standard Time
Event City Santa Ana
Event State CALIFORNIA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 92707
Event Date Year 2011
Event Date Month 1
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 334044N
Event Location Longitude 1175154W
Event Location Airport John Wayne
Event Location Nearest Airport ID SNA
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport On Airport
Distance from airport in statute miles --
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation 56
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1353 Pacific Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) --
Weather Observation Facility ID SNA
Elevation of weather observation facility 56
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) --
Time Zone of the weather observation PST
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height --
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height --
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Clear
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling None
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 22
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 0
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 250
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 5
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.01
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report --
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 2
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 29085
NTSB Notification Source ROC
NTSB Notification Date --
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information --
Date of most recent change to record Oct 17 2011 3:06PM
User who most recently changed record coos
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N47589
NTSB Number WPR11LA108
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? --
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name PIPER
Aircraft Model PA-28-201T
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 28R-7703404
Certified Max Gross Weight --
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class --
Aircraft is a homebuilt? No
Flight Crew Seats --
Cabin Crew Seats --
Passenger Seats --
Total number of seats on the aircraft 4
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Retractable
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Nov 1 2010 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours 2301
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type Unknown
Aircraft Owner Name Employ/Ease Inc.
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City St. George
Aircraft Owner State UT
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 84770
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name Employ/Ease Inc.
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address --
Operator City St. George
Operator State UT
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 84770
Operator Code --
Owner has at least one certificate None
Other Operator of large aircraft? No
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation --
Operator Certificate Number --
Indicates whether an air carrier operation was scheduled or not --
Indicates Domestic or International Flight --
Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail --
Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) Personal
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event No
Departure Airport Code 67L
Departure City Mesquite
Departure State NV
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1150
Departure Time Zone PST
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code SNA
Destination City Santa Ana
Destination State CA
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight --
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Oct 17 2011 3:06PM
User who most recently changed record coos
Since inspection or accident Last Inspection
Event Location Runway Number and Location 19L
Runway Length 2887
Runway Width 75
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --