Cessna 414 N745EP

Summary

On 26 September 2022 at about 13:00 local time, a Cessna 414 registered N745EP was involved in an accident near Augusta, Georgia, United States. 2 people were 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

26 September 2022 at 13:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Augusta, Georgia, United States

Nearest airport

Augusta Regional Airport (AGS)

Coordinates

33.3654, -81.9665

Aircraft

Cessna 414

Registration

N745EP

Category

Airplane

Year built

1974

Engines

2

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Adel → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA22LA434

Nobody was injured.

The failure of the nose landing gear to fully extend and lock into position for reasons that could not be determined, which resulted in its collapse during landing.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot reported that after an uneventful cross-country flight, while on short final approach to the runway, he received an unsafe nose landing gear (NLG) indication and performed a go-around. The pilot reported that the main landing gear indicator lights showed that the landing gear were down and locked; however, the NLG indicator light was flickering on and off. The pilot cycled the landing gear with the landing gear switch while in the traffic pattern and received confirmation from the tower controller that the landing gear appeared down. Subsequently, the pilot continued the traffic pattern to landing and, upon touchdown, the NLG collapsed and the airplane skidded to a stop on the runway. The fuselage sustained substantial damage. Examination of the landing gear system found no anomalies that would have prevented normal operation of the nose landing gear. Damage sustained to the airframe prevented the landing gear system from being tested. The manual landing gear extension crank was found in an intermediate position, which likely would have prevented the nose landing gear from fully extending and locking into place. The investigation was not able to determine whether the crank was improperly stowed, or not fully engaged, during flight, or whether the crank was moved after the accident during recovery operations.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.