Rockwell Commander AC11, N115TB, 31 January 2006
Rockwell Commander AC11, N115TB
Summary:
The aircraft had been undergoing maintenance which involved the removal of the engine for crankshaft replacement and subsequent refitting. A test flight comprising a circuit was conducted following the maintenance; however, having selected the gear down on the downwind leg the pilot noticed that the green ‘down and locked’ indication on the nose landing gear was not illuminated. A flypast of the ATC tower confirmed that the nose landing gear was only partially extended. Further attempts to extend the gear were unsuccessful and the pilot then used the emergency landing gear system, but again the nose landing gear indication did not illuminate. The aircraft landed and came to rest, the nose landing gear having collapsed. Examination found no faults with the hydraulically operated landing gear system and an emergency system free-fall was successfully demonstrated. There is no requirement as part of the engine change to carry out a landing gear function test. None of the landing gear components were disturbed. It was not possible to conclusively determine the reason for the failure of the nose landing gear to extend completely.
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