Renton, WA, USA
N57TJ
JURCAN Seawind 3000
The private pilot was conducting a cross-country personal flight. He reported that, after arriving at his destination and trying to ensure that the airplane was configured for the water landing, he observed that the right main landing gear (MLG) indicator light was off and that the hydraulic pressure read 0. The pilot then attempted to retract the right MLG several times to no avail. He chose to fly to a nearby airport with a paved runway, where the tower controller confirmed that the right MLG was extended but that the left MLG and nose landing gears were retracted. The pilot attempted to use the backup manual hydraulic pump and abrupt maneuvers to extend the remaining landing gear to no avail. The pilot chose to land on the runway with the landing gear partially retracted. The airplane touched down on the runway with the right MLG first. The pilot held the left wing off the runway as long as possible, but then the wing touched the runway, and the airplane veered off the runway surface. The airplane slid along the grass, impacted an airport sign and light, spun 180°, and then came to a rest. Postaccident examination of the airplane revealed that a hydraulic leak had originated from a cracked flare in a hydraulic line fitting, which caused the hydraulic fluid to leak, decreased the hydraulic pressure to 0, and prevented the landing gear system from fully extending or retracting.
On September 18, 2016, about 1500 Pacific daylight time, a Jurcan Seawind 3000 airplane, N57TJ, impacted a runway sign after landing with a landing gear malfunction at the Renton Municipal Airport (RNT), Renton, Washington. The pilot and one passenger were not injured, and the airplane sustained substantial damage to the left wing. The airplane was registered to, and operated by, the pilot as a personal flight under 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident, and no flight plan was filed. The airplane departed from Lampson Field Airport (1O2) Lakeport, California at 1040 and was originally destined for Lake Sammamish, Issaquah, Washington. The pilot reported that after arriving at Lake Sammamish, they observed that the right main landing gear indicator light was off and the hydraulic pressure read zero. The pilot attempted to retract the right landing gear several times, but to no avail. He elected to fly to a nearby airport, where the control tower confirmed that the right main landing gear was extended, while the left main and nose landing gears remained retracted. The pilot attempted to use the back-up manual hydraulic pump as well as abrupt maneuvers to lower the remaining landing gears, however, to no avail. The pilot elected to land onto the runway with the abnormal landing gear configuration. The airplane touched down onto the runway right landing gear first. The pilot held the left wing off the runway as long as possible, but when the wing touched the runway, the airplane veered off the runway surface. It slid along the grass and impacted an airport sign and light, before spinning 180 degrees and coming to a rest. Postaccident examination of the airplane revealed a hydraulic leak that originated at a cracked flare in a hydraulic line fitting. This fitting was located on the bulkhead between the cabin and nose compartment that leads directly into the nose gear actuator.
The failure of the landing gear system to either fully retract or extend due to a cracked hydraulic fitting flare, which resulted in the loss of hydraulic pressure.
Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database
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