Actuated

The left main gear downlock actuator failed while the airplane was airborne and the landing gear was in the up position. Since the lock collapsed into its locked position before the gear was down, the left main gear was out of sequence. The result was that the pilot followed the flight manual procedure of pumping the gear fully up and then making an emergency gear-up landing.Part total time: 3379 hours

Editorial Staff

Tuesday, November 25, 2014 at 12:00 AM ET

Verified

Key Takeaways:

A significant number of reported incidents involved failures or malfunctions of aircraft actuators, predominantly affecting landing gear systems.
Actuator malfunctions stemmed from various issues, including physical defects like cracks and missing fasteners, worn internal components, and electrical shorts.
Beyond landing gear, actuator problems were also noted in other critical systems such as flaps, aileron trim, and belt tensioners.

See a mistake? Contact us.

Cessna 201L Centurion
False Actuator Activation
The left main gear downlock actuator failed while the airplane was airborne and the landing gear was in the up position. Since the lock collapsed into its locked position before the gear was down, the left main gear was out of sequence. The result was that the pilot followed the flight manual procedure of pumping the gear fully up and then making an emergency gear-up landing.
Part total time: 3379 hours

Cessna 172RG Cutlass RG
Cracked Landing Gear Actuator
During descent, a loud noise was heard at landing gear extension. On investigation, the right main landing gear actuator was found cracked. Part was replaced and aircraft returned to service.
Part total time: 9100 hours