Fresno Yosemite Intl Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Fresno, California 93727
Sunday, June 15, 2014 20:44 PDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

On June 15, 2014, about 2044 Pacific daylight time, a Lockheed SP-2H, N4692A, was substantially damaged when the nose wheel landing gear collapsed during landing roll at the Fresno Yosemite International Airport (FAT), Fresno, California. The airplane was registered to Minden Air Corporation, Minden, Nevada, and operated as Tanker 48 by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Forestry Service, as a public use flight. The airline transport pilot (ATP) rated captain and the ATP rated first officer were not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and a company flight plan was filed for the local fire fighting flight. The flight originated from Porterville Municipal Airport (PTV), Porterville, California, at 1934. The captain reported that following an uneventful aerial drop, the flight was returning to PTV. During the descent check, he noticed that the hydraulic pressure indicated 0 and that the first officer subsequently verified that the sight gauge for the main hydraulic fluid reservoir was empty. The first officer opened the jet engine doors successfully as the captain selected gear down with no response. The captain notified base personnel at PTV of the situation and informed them that they would be orbiting to the east of the airport to troubleshoot. The captain and first officer performed the emergency checklist, and extended the nose wheel landing gear successfully. The captain stated that the first officer then installed the pin to the nose wheel landing gear as part of the emergency checklist. The flight diverted to FAT due to a longer runway and emergency resources as both pilots briefed the no-flap landing procedure, airspeeds, and approach profile. As the flight continued toward FAT, the flight crew informed Fresno Approach Control of the hydraulic system failure and continued to perform the emergency gear extension checklist. The first officer extended the main landing gear using the emergency gear release, which resulted in three down and locked landing gear indications in the cockpit. As the flight neared FAT, the first officer added two gallons of hydraulic fluid to the main hydraulic reservoir while the captain attempted to extend the flaps unsuccessfully. Subsequently, the flight landed on runway 26R. During the landing roll, the nose wheel landing gear collapsed and the airplane came to rest nose low. Examination of the airplane by representatives from the Forest Service revealed that the forward portion of the fuselage was structurally damaged. The airplane was recovered to a secure location for further examination.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

Not Yet Reported

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 6/15/2014
Event Day of the Week Sunday
Time of Event 2044
Event Time Zone Pacific Daylight Time
Event City Fresno
Event State CALIFORNIA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 93727
Event Date Year 2014
Event Date Month 6
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 364623N
Event Location Longitude 1194240W
Event Location Airport FRESNO YOSEMITE INTL
Event Location Nearest Airport ID FAT
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport On Airport
Distance from airport in statute miles 0
Degrees magnetic from airport 120
Airport Elevation 335
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 353 Coordinated Universal Time? Same as GMT
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 318
Weather Observation Facility ID KFAT
Elevation of weather observation facility 327
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 0
Time Zone of the weather observation UTC
Lighting Conditions Dusk
Lowest Ceiling Height 15000
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height --
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Clear
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) 26
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 6
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 290
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 13
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29.73
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report METAR KFAT 160353Z 29013KT 10SM BKN150 BKN200 26/0
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) --
NTSB Notification Source FAA 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 Jun 19 2014 2:30PM
User who most recently changed record cawj
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N4692A
NTSB Number WPR14TA248
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Public Use
Type of Flight Plan filed Company VFR
Flight plan Was Activated? Yes
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name LOCKHEED
Aircraft Model SP 2H
Aircraft Series Identifier H
Aircraft Serial Number 148357
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 --
Number of Engines --
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection --
Date of Last Inspection --
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours --
ELT Installed Unknown
ELT Activated Unknown
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name MINDEN AIR CORP
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City MINDEN
Aircraft Owner State NV
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 894238944
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name United States Department of Agriculture
Operator Same as Owner? No
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? No
Operator Street Address --
Operator City Washington
Operator State DC
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code --
Operator Code --
Owner has at least one certificate Yes - certificate holder
Other Operator of large aircraft? --
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) --
Second Pilot on Board Yes
Departure Point Same as Event No
Departure Airport Code PTV
Departure City Porterville
Departure State CA
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1934
Departure Time Zone PDT
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code PTV
Destination City Porterville
Destination State CA
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight --
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Jun 25 2014 1:31AM
User who most recently changed record stam
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location 29R
Runway Length 9539
Runway Width 150
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --