Strutting

During landing gear retraction tests, it was noted the nose wheel assembly would contact the right nose gear doors aft hinge during landing gear cycle. Also, the nose wheel assembly contacted the nose wheel well structure when fully retracted. Precision measurements determined the nose strut assembly-to-aircraft-structure attach points were misaligned.

Editorial Staff

Tuesday, August 18, 2015 at 12:00 AM ET

Verified

Key Takeaways:

Aircraft landing gear struts experienced various issues, including misaligned attach points, damaged internal components, and structural breakages.
These failures stemmed from diverse causes such as manufacturing defects, operational stress (e.g., hard landings), environmental factors, and pre-existing cracks.
Problems were discovered during routine inspections, retraction tests, or manifested as failures during taxi, takeoff, or after landing.

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Beech/Raytheon G36 Bonanza

Misaligned Strut Attach Points

During landing gear retraction tests, it was noted the nose wheel assembly would contact the right nose gear door’s aft hinge during landing gear cycle. Also, the nose wheel assembly contacted the nose wheel well structure when fully retracted. Precision measurements determined the nose strut assembly-to-aircraft-structure attach points were misaligned.

Part total time: 124.0 hours

Cessna Model 172SP Skyhawk SP

Damaged Strut Retaining Pins

During routine inspection, the nose gear oleo strut was disassembled to replace O-rings. During disassembly, the technician found the inner strut tube at the top had damaged retaining pins, allowing the lower part of tube to be worked loose from the upper part. The only way to find this type of damage is to completely disassemble the nose strut.

Part total time: 1514.0 hours

Piper J3 Cub

Shock Strut Failure

Aircraft was flown for 45 hours on snow skis before the right shock strut broke during low-speed taxi. The right long shock strut broke halfway down the tube with no signs of previous cracking. Break occurred during compression of the shock strut by high side loads from heavy snow and ice.

Part total time: 5025.0 hours

Piper PA-28-140 Cherokee 140

Attach Point Failure

After landing, the upper link attach point failed on the main landing gear strut cylinder, p/n 65319-002. This failure caused the oleo strut to be ejected from the cylinder causing major damage to aircraft. SB 1311 addresses this.

Part total time: 7000.0 hours

Piper PA-44-180 Seminole

MLG Strut Failure

The left main strut failed during the takeoff roll, resulting in the gear collapsing. On inspection, there appeared to be a pre-existing crack, starting from the bolt hole that attaches the strut to the wheel housing. It should be noted this aircraft is used for flight training and probably has experienced hard landings on many occasions.

Part total time: Unknown

Taylorcraft BC-12D

Oversize Strut Attach Points

Mounting holes for new sealed front lift struts, STC SA02300AK, p/n AF-MA-A815, were measured to be 0.007-inch oversize. The replacement struts are intended to satisfy ADs 2007-16-14 and 2008-04-09. The STC holder was contacted about the problem but there was no resolution.

Part total time: 0.0 hours