Cessna 210L N777FW accident near Aurora, Oregon

Probable cause

The failure of the landing gear to properly function for undetermined reasons, resulting in the right main landing gear collapsing during landing. Contributing to the accident was the pilot's failure to follow the emergency gear extension procedure.

NTSB analysis

The pilot reported that, after departing for a local flight, he attempted to retract the landing gear but the landing gear did not retract. He verified the position by looking out of the window and noted that the landing gear appeared to be in the down-and-locked position. The green landing gear position light was not illuminated. Because he thought that the landing gear was in the down-and-locked position, the pilot decided not to use the manual gear extension procedure. During the landing, the right main landing gear collapsed. Postaccident examination and testing of the landing gear system showed that it operated normally and no mechanical anomalies were identified. The underlying cause of the intermittent operation of the landing gear system was not determined. Testing of the manual gear extension system showed that it functioned normally. Had the pilot used the system, he would have received a gear down-and-locked indication and landed normally.

Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for WPR10LA140 for the full record.