AO-2005-007

On Thursday 7 July 2005 at 0852, the pilot of ZK-MSL, a Piper PA34 Seneca II, intentionally landed the aircraft at Napier Aerodrome with the landing gear retracted after both normal and emergency procedures failed to extend the nose landing gear. The pilot and the sole passenger were not injured. Aircraft damage was largely confined to the propellers.

The nose gear had failed to extend because the centering spring attachment bolt had jammed against the nose gear door aft tube assembly. The bolt had been installed incorrectly 9 weeks earlier during maintenance. Contributory factors were overloading of the nose baggage compartment and a possible lack of rigidity in the nose cone.

Safety issues identified included the need for aircraft maintenance engineers to refer to appropriate documentation when carrying out unfamiliar tasks, the ongoing compliance with an Airworthiness Directive concerning the attachment bolt, and the effectiveness of the associated Service Bulletin.

Safety recommendations were made to the Director of Civil Aviation and to the aircraft manufacturer regarding the Airworthiness Directive and Service Bulletin respectively. The maintenance provider took action to improve staff maintenance practices, therefore no safety recommendation was made to that organisation.