Accident Piper PA-31-350 Navajo Chieftain N4112K,
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ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 263770
 
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Date:Sunday 12 January 2020
Time:12:23 LT
Type:Silhouette image of generic PA31 model; specific model in this crash may look slightly different    
Piper PA-31-350 Navajo Chieftain
Owner/operator:Hageland Aviation Services
Registration: N4112K
MSN: 31-8353006
Year of manufacture:1982
Total airframe hrs:33715 hours
Engine model:Lycoming LTIO-540-J2B
Fatalities:Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 8
Aircraft damage: Substantial
Category:Accident
Location:Fairbanks Int'l Airport, Fairbanks AK -   United States of America
Phase: Landing
Nature:Unknown
Departure airport:Fairbanks International Airport, AK (FAI/PAFA)
Destination airport:Galena Airport, AK (GAL/PAGA)
Investigating agency: NTSB
Confidence Rating: Accident investigation report completed and information captured
Narrative:
The pilot was approaching the destination airport for landing when the landing gear did not extend. The pilot utilized the manual pump system, the emergency pneumatic blowdown system, and conducted maneuvers at altitude to extend and lock the gear down; the nose and left main landing gear (MLG) extended and locked, but the right MLG did not. The pilot subsequently landed with the right MLG retracted, and the right wing impacted the runway during the landing roll, resulting in substantial damage.
An examination of the hydraulic system revealed no fluid in the hydraulic reservoir and a leak at the right MLG unlock actuator due to a loose fitting that exhibited stripped threads at the connection. The right MLG hydraulic shuttle valve was stuck and unable to move. After disassembly, water and corrosion was evident inside the cylinder.
The hydraulic lines were all replaced during a phase inspection about one week before the accident.
It is likely that the hydraulic line fitting to the right MLG unlock actuator was insufficiently tightened or was cross-threaded during installation, which resulted in wear of the threads after numerous landings. The subsequent loss of system pressure prevented the landing gear from extending normally and with the hand pump.
How water intruded into the shuttle valve could not be determined, but the resulting corrosion likely prevented the valve from moving during the emergency blowdown system activation, which prevented pneumatic pressure from activating the right MLG actuator. The condition was not evident until the emergency system was utilized.

Probable Cause: The improper installation of a hydraulic line at the right main landing gear (MLG) unlock actuator, which resulted in a total loss of system hydraulic pressure and failure of the landing gear to extend. Contributing to the accident was the failure of the right MLG shuttle valve due to corrosion, which prevented the right MLG from extending during the emergency blowdown activation.

Accident investigation:
cover
  
Investigating agency: NTSB
Report number: ANC20LA013
Status: Investigation completed
Duration: 2 years 1 month
Download report: Final report

Sources:

NTSB ANC20LA013

History of this aircraft

Other occurrences involving this aircraft
14 March 2009 N4112K Frontier Flying Service 0 Buckland, Alaska sub
Runway excursion

Location

Revision history:

Date/timeContributorUpdates
09-Jun-2021 17:48 aaronwk Added
01-Jul-2022 14:47 ASN Update Bot Updated [Time, Operator, Other fatalities, Nature, Source, Narrative, Category, Accident report]

Corrections or additions? ... Edit this accident description

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