Phoenix Deer Valley Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Phoenix, Arizona 85027
Tuesady, June 21, 2011 9:25 MST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot reported that while conducting a preflight inspection of the airplane he observed that the left main landing gear strut appeared low. He contacted a maintenance facility to service the strut and to fill the oxygen bottle. Once maintenance was finished, the pilot and passengers loaded the airplane and departed. During the initial climb, the pilot heard a noise as he raised the landing gear handle; he visually checked the landing gear and observed that the nose landing gear was partially retracted. He cycled the landing gear multiple times; however, there was no change in the landing gear's position. The pilot elected to land the airplane on the runway with the nose gear partially retracted. During the landing, the pilot kept the airplane slow with the nose gear off of the ground as long as possible. When the nose gear contacted the runway, the airplane skidded to a stop. A postaccident examination of the airframe by a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector revealed that the landing gear actuator push-pull tube end bolt was still secured tightly to the rod end; however, it was disconnected from the nose gear door hinge clevis. No damage was noted to the rod end bolt or the clevis, ruling out a mechanical impact-related force separating the two. The maintenance technician who worked on the airplane noted that he had the nose gear doors disconnected to gain access to the oxygen bottle valve and control cable and, after filling the bottle, thought he had reconnected both doors. He said that he normally installs the bolt and nut back into the actuating rod end finger-tight so he does not lose them. Inspection of the left gear door actuating rod revealed the bolt and nut run up tight against the rod end, requiring a wrench to do so.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The mechanic's failure to properly secure the nose landing gear actuator push-pull tube to the landing gear door hinge clevis, which resulted in the gear jamming and not fully retracting after takeoff.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 6/21/2011
Event Day of the Week Tuesday
Time of Event 925
Event Time Zone Mountain Standard Time
Event City Phoenix
Event State ARIZONA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 85027
Event Date Year 2011
Event Date Month 6
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 334117N
Event Location Longitude 1120457W
Event Location Airport Phoenix Deer Valley Airport
Event Location Nearest Airport ID DVT
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 1478
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 853 Mountain Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 0
Weather Observation Facility ID DVT
Elevation of weather observation facility 1478
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 0
Time Zone of the weather observation MST
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) 33
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) -3
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 170
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 4
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29.78
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 3
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 28854
NTSB Notification Source FAA AWP Operations Center
NTSB Notification Date --
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information --
Date of most recent change to record Sep 8 2011 6:24PM
User who most recently changed record stam
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N6160Q
NTSB Number WPR11LA292
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? No
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name CESSNA
Aircraft Model 320F
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 320F-0010
Certified Max Gross Weight 5300
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 6
Number of Engines 2
Fixed gear or retractable gear Retractable
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Conditional
Date of Last Inspection Jun 21 2011 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 0
Airframe Hours 4974
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type Unknown
Aircraft Owner Name MCPHERSON CHARLES R
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City PHOENIX
Aircraft Owner State AZ
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 85015-5832
Operator is an individual? Yes
Operator Name MCPHERSON CHARLES R
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address --
Operator City PHOENIX
Operator State AZ
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 85015-5832
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 Yes
Departure Airport Code DVT
Departure City Phoenix
Departure State AZ
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 924
Departure Time Zone MST
Destination Same as Local Flt --
Destination Airport Code SOW
Destination City Showlow
Destination State AZ
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight --
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Sep 8 2011 6:28PM
User who most recently changed record stam
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location 07L
Runway Length 8197
Runway Width 100
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --