Accident British Aerospace 3102 Jetstream 31 G-GAVA,

ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 320462

Date:	Friday 15 August 2014
Time:	19:36
Type:	British Aerospace 3102 Jetstream 31
Owner/operator:	Links Air
Registration:	G-GAVA
MSN:	785
Year of manufacture:	1987
Engine model:	Garrett TPE331-10UGR-516H
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 3
Aircraft damage:	Substantial
Category:	Accident
Location:	Doncaster/Sheffield-Robin Hood Airport (DSA) - United Kingdom
Phase:	Landing
Nature:	Passenger - Scheduled
Departure airport:	Belfast City Airport (BHD/EGAC)
Destination airport:	Doncaster/Sheffield-Robin Hood Airport (DSA/EGCN)
Investigating agency:	AAIB
Confidence Rating:	Accident investigation report completed and information captured

Narrative:
A Jetstream 31, registration G-GAVA, sustained substantial damage in a landing accident at Doncaster/Sheffield-Robin Hood Airport (DCA), U.K.
Flight 207 took off from Belfast City Airport (BHD) at 17:45 hrs operating a scheduled air service to Doncaster with one passenger and a crew of two pilots on board. The captain was the Pilot Flying (PF) and the co-pilot was the Pilot Monitoring (PM).
The departure, cruise and approach to Doncaster Sheffield Airport were uneventful. Although runway 02 was the active runway, the crew requested radar vectors for a visual final approach to runway 20, a request which was approved by ATC. The loadsheet recorded that the aircrafts mass at landing was expected to be 5,059 kg which required a target threshold indicated airspeed (IAS) of 101 kt.
The aircraft touched down at 19:36 hrs with an IAS of 102 kt and a peak normal acceleration of 1.3 g, and the commander moved the power levers aft to ground idle followed by reverse. As the aircraft decelerated, the commander moved the power levers forward to ground idle and asked the co-pilot to move the rpm levers to taxi. At an IAS of 65 kt, eight seconds after touchdown, the left wing dropped suddenly, the aircraft began to yaw to the left and the commander was unable to maintain directional control with either the rudder or the nosewheel steering tiller. The aircraft ran off the left side of the runway and stopped on the grass having turned through approximately 90°. The left landing gear had collapsed and the aircraft had come to a halt resting on its belly, right landing gear and left wing.
The captain pulled both feather levers, to ensure that both engines were shut down, and switched the electrics master switch to emergency off. The co-pilot radioed for emergency services.

A review of the previous 82 landings recorded on the FDR has not identified any of concern but it was noted that a peak normal acceleration of 1.72g was recorded during the eighteenth landing prior to the accident. However, this was within the landing gear limit load.
Preliminary findings indicate that the failure was initiated as a result of stress corrosion cracking in the forward yoke pintle at the top of the left landing gear leg.
Incidently, this same aircraft (Jetstream 31 msn 785) suffered a failure of the right hand main landing gear while landing at Isle Of Man-Ronaldsway Airport (IOM), March 8, 2012. It was determined that in that case the landing gear had failed as a result of intergranular corrosion / stress corrosion cracking of the forward yoke pintle.

Conclusion:
The aircrafts left main landing gear failed as a result of stress corrosion cracking in the forward pintle housing, at the top of the left landing gear cylinder. The landing gear material is known to be susceptible to stress corrosion cracking. The investigation determined that a design solution implemented by the aircraft manufacturer following the 2012 accident, which was intended to prevent stress corrosion cracking, had not met its original design intent.

METAR:

18:20 UTC / 19:20 local time:
EGCN 151820Z 26005KT 220V280 9999 FEW030 17/14 Q1019
Winds: 260 degrees at 5 knots, varying between 220 and 280 degrees; Visibility: 10+ km; few clouds at 2700 feet; Temperature: 16°C; Dewpoint: 14°C; Pressure: 1019 mb

18:50 UTC / 19:50 local time:
EGCN 151850Z 22004KT 9999 FEW027 16/14 Q1019

Accident investigation: