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| Date: | Friday 2 January 2004 |
| Time: | 20:48 UTC |
| Type: |  Airbus A320-212 |
| Owner/operator: | Air Luxor |
| Registration: | CS-TQE |
| MSN: | 221 |
| Year of manufacture: | 1991 |
| Engine model: | CFMI CFM56-5A3 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 178 |
| Other fatalities: | 0 |
| Aircraft damage: | Minor, repaired |
| Category: | Incident |
| Location: | Madeira-Cristiano Ronaldo International Airport (FNC/LPFU) -
 Portugal
|
| Phase: | Standing |
| Nature: | Passenger - Scheduled |
| Departure airport: | Madeira-Cristiano Ronaldo International Airport (FNC/LPFU) |
| Porto-Francisco Sá Carneiro Airport (OPO/LPPR) | |
| Investigating agency: | GPIAA |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
After push-back from stand A06 at FNC, while starting nr. 1 engine, the Air Luxor Airbus A320, suffered an unexpected
and uncommanded nose landing gear retraction. The aircraft nose struck the ground on taxiway A, suffering severe damage on nose gear doors, nose gear leg, forward fuselage and engine cowls.
The 6 crew and 172 passengers on board were unhurt and left the aircraft by themselves, using the forward passengers door. The ramp official, assisting the flight, was hit by the fuselage and suffered minor injuries.
CAUSES AND CONTRIBUTING FACTORS
Considering landing gear geometry and conception philosophy, in view of all protections introduced in the system and the absence of gear selector lever actuation, the Investigation Commission concluded that the unexpected and uncommanded nose gear retraction was due to a combination of two factors:
1 A faulty seal (P/N 7027 FR 952-5708), resulting from a defective manufacture process, allowed an abnormal pressure build up in landing gear retracting line ;
2 The landing gear downlocks withdrawal, most probably caused by a momentary de-energizing of landing gear door’s selector valve “A” solenoid, during the transient period of power transfer from APU GEN to ENG #1 GEN.
This combination created the necessary condition for the nose landing gear to be retracted, without intentional pilot action.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
GPIAAF
Location
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 12-Apr-2025 09:55 | ASN | Added |
| 01-May-2025 18:21 | ASN | Updated [Time, Cn, Operator, Total occupants, Location, Phase, Nature, Departure airport, Destination airport, Damage, Narrative, Category, ] |
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