ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 189168
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| Date: | Saturday 5 February 2005 |
| Time: | 13:10 |
| Type: |  Piper PA-23-250 Aztec E |
| Owner/operator: | Southern Aircraft Consultancy Inc Trustee |
| Registration: | N54211 |
| MSN: | 27-7554006 |
| Year of manufacture: | 1974 |
| Engine model: | Lycoming TIO-540 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 2 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | Elstree Aerodrome, Elstree, Hertfordshire -
 United Kingdom
|
| Phase: | Landing |
| Nature: | Test |
| Departure airport: | Elstree, Hertfordshire (ETR/EGTR) |
| Elstree, Hertfordshire (ETR/EGTR) | |
| Investigating agency: | AAIB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
Ex-UK registry as G-BCSU from 03-12-1974 (= from new) until re-registered in Germany 20-12-1976. Returned to the UK on 19-11-1984, this time as G-ITTU. UK registration G-ITTU cancelled 11-09-1997 as "Transferred to another country or authority > UNITED STATES OF AMERICA". Despite being US-registered, remained UK based.
Written off (damaged beyond repair) due to nose wheel undercarriage leg collapse on landing at Elstree at the end of a test flight. No injuries reported to the two person on board (pilot and one passenger). According to the following excerpt from the official AAIB report into the accident:
"The purpose of the flight was to test the engines following the aircraft's annual maintenance check. The pilot, who was also the maintenance engineer, carried out his normal pre-flight checks. The aircraft's hydraulic system was function checked on the ground by cycling the flaps and checking that the landing gear selector returned to neutral following a gear DOWN selection.
The pilot carried out a normal takeoff and then selected the gear and flaps UP. The flaps retracted normally and the amber light illuminated indicating that all three landing gear legs were up and locked. The pilot then carried out a large visual circuit, verified the engine operation, and then lined up for a long final approach to Elstree. On final he selected one stage of flap and selected the gear DOWN.
Both main gear legs locked down as evidenced by two green indicator lights, but the nose gear's green light did not illuminate. There was also slower traffic ahead so, from a two mile final, the pilot initiated a go-around, retracted the flap and selected gear UP. The flap retracted and he felt the main gear retract but not the nose gear. A visual check via the mirror on the left engine nacelle revealed that the nose gear was in a semi-retracted state.
The pilot left the circuit and flew to a nearby area to troubleshoot the problem. He selected the gear DOWN and obtained two 'greens' on the main gear but the nose gear did not lock down. He then used the emergency hand pump to try and extend the gear but he felt no resistance while pumping and noticed a strong smell of hydraulic fluid in the cabin. Next, he slowed the aircraft and activated the emergency gas blow-down bottle. He heard the bottle discharge but still the nose gear did not lock down.
As a final resort he manoeuvred the aircraft around to try and lock the nose gear down but to no effect. He then informed Elstree Information by radio of his predicament. The emergency services were activated and then the pilot circled for approximately 30 minutes to permit some local aircraft to recover to the airfield. The pilot carried out a flapless approach and then once over the runway threshold, he shut down both engines and feathered both propellers.
After a normal touchdown on the main gear the aircraft rolled for a short distance before the nose sank to the runway. The nose gear retracted and the nose of the aircraft scraped along the runway surface until the aircraft came to a rest. Both the pilot and his passenger were able to vacate the aircraft via the normal exit door.
The aircraft also sustained further damage in the recovery operation: "The recovery plan for the aircraft was to lower the tail so that the nose gear could be manually pulled forwards until it locked into position. A truck was connected to the tie-down ring on the tail of the aircraft using a rope. Then, whilst the pilot was holding the foot brakes, four people sat on the horizontal tail of the aircraft and the truck pulled on the rope to lower the tail. With the tail lowered the pilot got out of the aircraft and then started to pull the nose gear into the locked position.
As he did this, the main gear retracted, the aircraft hit the ground, and the truck pulled the tie-down ring and surrounding skin off the aircraft"
Nature of Damage: Damage to nose cone, nose underside and nose gear doors. Presumably the aircraft was later declared as "beyond economic repair", as the registration N54211 was cancelled by the FAA on 13-06-2008, some three
years later. As for the airframe of N54211, after being stripped for spares at Elstree in April 2007, the hulk was sold to Buckland Lake Reserve, Buckland Road, Cliffe, Near Rochester, Kent. It left Elstree on 06-08-2007, and shortly afterwards, was sunk into the lake for use as a "plaything" for divers in the lake. It was used as such until at least August 2013.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
1. AAIB: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5422ed14e5274a131400014f/Piper_PA-23-250_Aztec__N54211_8-05.pdf
2. FAA: http://registry.faa.gov/aircraftinquiry/NNum_Results.aspx?omni=Home-N-Number&nNumberTxt=54211
3. N52411 being dismantled at Elstree 22-04-2007: http://www.airport-data.com/aircraft/photo/000079589.html
4. https://www.flickr.com/photos/16778440@N04/6848333808/sizes/l/in/photostream/
5. https://www.flickr.com/photos/45404673@N05/23739166666
6. http://www.bucklandlake.co/index.php?id=9#.V6nqBZgrLIU
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 09-Aug-2016 14:42 | Dr.John Smith | Added |
| 09-Aug-2016 14:43 | Dr.John Smith | Updated [Narrative] |
| 09-Aug-2016 14:45 | Dr.John Smith | Updated [Narrative] |
| 09-Aug-2016 14:46 | Dr.John Smith | Updated [Narrative] |
Corrections or additions? ... Edit this accident description
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