De Havilland DHC-8-311 N326EN

Summary

On 16 November 2008 at about 14:34 local time, a De Havilland DHC-8-311 registered N326EN, operated by Piedmont Airlines, was involved in an incident near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. 38 people were on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was slightly damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

16 November 2008 at 14:34

Classification

Incident

Location

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States

Nearest airport

Philadelphia International (PHL)

Coordinates

39.8681, -75.2389

Aircraft

De Havilland DHC-8-311

Registration

N326EN

Category

Airplane

Engines

2

Operator

Piedmont Airlines

Operating rule

Part 121: Air Carrier

Purpose of flight

Business

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Allentown → Philadelphia

Aircraft damage

Minor

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA09IA056

Nobody was injured.

The mechanical overload of the nosewheel steering links for undetermined reasons, which resulted in nose landing gear rotation and its subsequent wedging within the wheel well structure.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

The airplane was on approach for landing. When the landing gear was selected to the extended position, the main landing gear extended properly but the nose landing gear did not. The crew performed a go-around, exited the airport airspace, and unsuccessfully attempted to extend the nose landing gear using several checklists and in consult with ground-based maintenance personnel. A subsequent fly-by of the air traffic control tower confirmed that the nose landing gear doors were open, but that the nose landing gear was not extended. The captain subsequently landed the airplane with the nose landing gear retracted and delayed lowering the nose until the slowest speed possible. The nose of the airplane contacted the runway and the airplane slid for about 525 feet before it stopped. There was no fire, and the passengers deplaned normally at the scene. On-site examination of the airplane and a laboratory examination of the nosegear components revealed that the steering links had been circumferentially loaded in tension beyond their load-carrying capacity. Failure of the steering links allowed the nosewheels to rotate in the wheel well and become wedged within the structure. Hardness testing satisfied the manufacturer's minimum requirements and no determination could be made as to when the overload occurred.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.