Date:	Friday 20 April 2007
Time:	17:08
Type:	de Havilland Canada DHC-8-301
Owner/operator:	Bahamasair
Registration:	C6-BFN
MSN:	159
Year of manufacture:	1989
Total airframe hrs:	29570 hours
Cycles:	52653 flights
Engine model:	Pratt & Whitney Canada PW123
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 51
Aircraft damage:	Substantial, written off
Category:	Accident
Location:	Governor's Harbour Airport (GHB) -   Bahamas
Phase:	Landing
Nature:	Passenger - Scheduled
Departure airport:	Nassau-Lynden Pindling International Airport (NAS/MYNN)
Destination airport:	Governor's Harbour Airport (GHB/MYEM)
Investigating agency:	DCABah
Confidence Rating:	Accident investigation report completed and information captured

Narrative:
A de Havilland Canada DHC-8-301 passenger plane, operating as Bahamasair flight UP-353, sustained substantial damage in a landing accident at Governor's Harbour Airport (GHB), Bahamas. There were no injuries among the 51 occupants.
The airplane landed on runway 15 at Governor's Harbour following a flight from Nassau. On touchdown the left hand main landing gear separated. The airplane skidded and came to rest on the runway.

Probable Cause:
Probable Cause has been determined as an over-center Torque Link condition that culminated in a single cycle failure of the cylinder. The over center torque links condition occur as a result of the over extension of the shock strut.

Possible Contributory factors to the over extension of the shock strut includes:
Possible Cause for Loss of Damping
- The failure to install the dampening ring when the landing gear was assembled.
- Improper servicing of the landing gear shock strut with Mil-H-5606 hydraulic fluid plus nitrogen during initial assembly.
- Improper servicing of landing gear shock strut during line maintenance and inadequate post servicing follow up per AMM Chapter 12. See attached report Appendix A-30 From Bombardier
- Under-serviced shock strut (low oil volume)
- A broken damper ring
- No damper ring
- Disengaged damper ring

Probe Continues Into Crash Landing In Eleuthera (The Bahama Journal, 10-5-2007)

photo (c) Werner Fischdick; Nassau International Airport (NAS/MYNN); 04 April 2002

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