S C Aerostar S A YAK 52 N624PT

Summary

On 1 February 2017 at about 23:15 local time, a S C Aerostar S A YAK 52 registered N624PT was involved in an accident near St. Elmo, Alabama, United States. One person was on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

1 February 2017 at 23:15

Classification

Accident

Location

St. Elmo, Alabama, United States

Nearest airport

St. Elmo Airport (2R5)

Coordinates

30.5019, -88.2750

Aircraft

S C Aerostar S A YAK 52

Registration

N624PT

Category

Airplane

Year built

1985

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

St. Elmo → St. Elmo

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA17LA105

Nobody was injured.

The failure of the right main landing gear uplock actuator due to corrosion.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The private pilot of the experimental, imported military airplane, stated that, after takeoff and while retracting the landing gear, he noticed that the pneumatic pressure was low. He then attempted to extend the landing gear using normal and emergency procedures, but the right main landing gear (MLG) remained retracted. The pilot subsequently conducted an emergency landing with the right MLG retracted. During the landing roll, he was able to keep the right wing from contacting the runway for about 1,000 ft. Once the wing contacted the runway, the pilot was unable to maintain directional control, and the airplane exited the right side of the runway. The right aileron sustained substantial damage. Examination of the airplane revealed that the pneumatic cylinder actuator that released the right MLG uplock was not functioning properly. Subsequent teardown examination of the right MLG uplock actuator revealed that moisture had entered the actuator over a period of time and corroded the internal components. The corrosion led to the failure of the actuator.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.