• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
General Aviation News

General Aviation News

Because flying is cool

  • Pictures of the Day
    • Submit Picture of the Day
  • Stories
    • News
    • Features
    • Opinion
    • Products
    • NTSB Accidents
    • ASRS Reports
  • Comments
  • Classifieds
    • Place Classified Ad
  • Events
  • Digital Archives
  • Subscribe
  • Show Search
Hide Search

Gear failure for Cessna pilot

By NTSB · January 31, 2013 ·

Aircraft: Cessna 182. Injuries: None. Location: Houston, Texas. Aircraft damage: Substantial.

What reportedly happened: The pilot, who was returning to the airport after a short flight, performed the before-landing checklist, which included verification of landing gear extension. After touchdown both main landing gear legs collapsed. The nose gear remained extended and the airplane slid down the runway.

The subsequent examination of the airplane revealed that the electric motor that actuated the hydraulic power pack was inoperative. The failure of the power pack before the end of the gear extension cycle would result in a fully extended nose gear and a partial extension of the main landing gear legs.

Probable cause: The failure of the landing gear to fully extend and lock in the down position due to the inoperative electric pump motor.

NTSB Identification: CEN11CA155

This January 2011 accident report is provided by the National Transportation Safety Board. Published as an educational tool, it is intended to help pilots learn from the misfortunes of others.

About NTSB

The National Transportation Safety Board is an independent federal agency charged by Congress with investigating every civil aviation accident in the United States and significant events in the other modes of transportation, including railroad, transit, highway, marine, pipeline, and commercial space. It determines the probable causes of accidents and issues safety recommendations aimed at preventing future occurrences.

Reader Interactions

Share this story

  • Share on Twitter Share on Twitter
  • Share on Facebook Share on Facebook
  • Share on LinkedIn Share on LinkedIn
  • Share on Reddit Share on Reddit
  • Share via Email Share via Email

Become better informed pilot.

Join 110,000 readers each month and get the latest news and entertainment from the world of general aviation direct to your inbox, daily.

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Curious to know what fellow pilots think on random stories on the General Aviation News website? Click on our Recent Comments page to find out. Read our Comment Policy here.

Comments

  1. Steve says

    February 1, 2013 at 6:43 am

    The gear legs didn’t collapse–the pilot didn’t check that the “gear down” light was illuminated. All Cessna retractable gear singles are equipped with a back-up method of extending the landing gear if the primary power source ( engine driven pump or electrically driven pump) fails.

    • Pete says

      February 1, 2013 at 11:52 am

      I suspect the pilot selected gear down but didn’t visually check (you can see the main gear wheels when extended) for a green lite. I had that happen once during an instrument approach in a 182RG. No green light and no gear in spite of selecting gear down. A few strokes of the emergency gear down pump handle brot the gear out and locked promptly.

© 2025 Flyer Media, Inc. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy.

  • About
  • Advertise
  • Comment Policy
  • Contact Us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Writer’s Guidelines
  • Photographer’s Guidelines