Cessna T337G N38C accident near Upland, California

Probable cause

The pilot’s failure to properly flare the airplane, which resulted in a hard landing. Contributing to the accident was the pilot’s decision to fly a nonstandard traffic pattern, which resulted in an unstable approach.

NTSB analysis

The pilot reported that, on the downwind leg, the green landing gear indicator lights did not illuminate when he extended the gear. He then went through the emergency landing gear extension checklist and noted that the landing gear pump handle had high resistance, indicating to him that the landing gear was down. He felt excessive drag and suspected that the main landing gear doors were open. The pilot stated that he conducted a low pass over the runway and made a radio call requesting visual confirmation of the gear being down and locked, but no response was received. The pilot reported that flaring the airplane during the landing was very difficult due to the open gear doors and the nose gear and left main landing gear collapsed on touchdown.

Automatic dependent surveillance - broadcast (ADS-B) data showed the airplane making a normal crosswind turn and then angling toward the runway threshold before making a tight left base turn to the final leg of the pattern. The airplane landed hard, short, and to the right of the runway threshold. The left main landing gear and the nose landing gear collapsed due to the hard landing, and the left wing sustained substantial damage.

A postaccident examination of the landing gear system revealed that all three landing gear were in the down and locked position when the airplane touched down. Further examination revealed that the left landing gear limit switch was not functioning properly, rendering it unable to sequence the door solenoid valve to the door close position. This resulted in the main landing gear doors remaining open, causing excessive drag.

The pilot's execution of an overly tight base turn, likely exceeding the critical angle of attack, and the increased drag caused by the open main landing gear doors, likely led to the pilot not properly flaring the airplane, which resulted in a hard landing.

Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for WPR23LA154 for the full record.