Mooney M20C N21007 accident near Farmington, Missouri

Probable cause

The collapse of the landing gear during landing for undetermined reasons.

NTSB analysis

A flight instructor was conducting a flight review for the pilot. After a normal flight, as the airplane approached its destination, the flight instructor extended the landing gear. He felt the landing gear drop but he did not see a safe landing gear light indication on the instrument panel. He cycled the landing gear 3-4 times and the safe landing gear down light flickered but did not indicate a safe down condition.

The flight instructor elected to land the airplane as gently as possible on the runway. During the landing he felt the tires touch the runway, and the landing gear collapsed a few seconds later. The airplane slid on the runway on its belly, which resulted in substantial damage to formers and stringers below the belly skin. When a local mechanic lifted the airplane and lowered the landing gear, the gear down light did not illuminate. The mechanic secured the landing gear with bars and towed the airplane off the runway.

A detailed examination of the landing gear system, including the cockpit gear indication, throttle warning horn, and landing gear mechanical linkages did not reveal any failures or abnormalities that could have contributed to the gear collapse. The entire landing gear system performed correctly, and no faults were discovered. The flight instructor’s report of a landing gear light malfunction could not be duplicated. A review of the airframe logbook entries did not reveal any discrepancies or uncorrected defects with the landing gear system.

Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for CEN22LA392 for the full record.