National Transportation Safety Board Printed on : 11/18/2010 7:23:36 PM

Washington, DC 20594

Brief of Accident

Adopted 11/29/2006

LAX05FA202
File No. 20639 06/12/2005 Los Angeles, CA Aircraft Reg No. N960SW Time (Local): 22:26 PDT

Make/Model: Bombardier Aerospace, Inc. / CL-600-2B19 Fatal Serious Minor/None

Engine Make/Model: General Electric / CF-34-3B1 Crew 0 0 3
Aircraft Damage: Substantial Pass 0 0 14
Number of Engines: 2
Operating Certificate(s): Flag Carrier/Domestic
Name of Carrier: SKYWEST AIRLINES INC
Type of Flight Operation: Scheduled; Domestic; Passenger Only
Reg. Flight Conducted Under: Part 121: Air Carrier

Last Depart. Point: Same as Accident/Incident Location Condition of Light: Night

Destination: Santa Barbara, CA Weather Info Src: Weather Observation Facility
Airport Proximity: On Airport/Airstrip Basic Weather: Visual Conditions
Airport Name: Los Angeles International Airp Lowest Ceiling: 900 Ft. AGL, Overcast
Runway Identification: 25L Visibility: 6.00 SM
Runway Length/Width (Ft): 11096 / 200 Wind Dir/Speed: 260 / 008 Kts
Runway Surface: Concrete Temperature (°C): 17
Runway Surface Condition: Dry Precip/Obscuration: No Obscuration; No Precipitation

Pilot-in-Command Age: 42 Flight Time (Hours)

Certificate(s)/Rating(s) Total All Aircraft: 11728

Airline Transport; Commercial; Multi-engine Land; Single-engine Land Last 90 Days: Unk/Nr
Total Make/Model: 4636
Instrument Ratings Total Instrument Time: UnK/Nr
Airplane

The airplane was damaged during a landing with the nose landing gear partially extended. As the airplane descended toward the
destination airport, the crew moved the landing gear handle to the extend position. The pilots noted a "gear disagree" warning message
displayed on the Engine Indicating and Crew Alerting System (EICAS) that showed the main landing gear were down and locked, and the nose
gear was not fully extended. The pilots opted to land at an alternate airport and began to troubleshoot the gear indication with use of
the airplane's Quick Reference Handbook (QRH). Despite their efforts, which included using the manual release handle, the nose gear
failed to extend. The airplane touched down on the main landing gear and the nose lowered to the ground as the speed dissipated. Review
of the CVR found that the flight crew followed each step of the Quick Reference Handbook checklist. The flight crew did not cycle the
landing gear lever, nor was that action part of the QRH procedure at the time. The digital flight data recorder (DFDR) revealed that the
main landing gear transitioned into the down and locked position but the nose gear remained partially extended between the uplocked and
downlocked positions. A further review of the data disclosed the hydraulic pressure remained constant throughout the extension and did
not show the pressure changes that should have occurred with normal system operation. The only pressure changes noted in the duration of
the flight were consistent with the manual release system being activated. No increase of brake pressure was recorded during the gear
extension attempt, indicating that there was no hydraulic backpressure on the retract side of the NLG actuator. The components of the
nose landing gear (NLG) system were tested, revealing no anomalies or malfunctions that could have precluded normal operation. Several
simulations were conducted exploring various potential problem scenarios; however, none of the simulations produced the hydraulic system
and brake pressure readings on the accident flight's DFDR data. A review of several maintenance discrepancy databases for events where
the NLG failed to extend into the downlock position found that the operator did not have a higher event rate of gear disagree messages
 Brief of Accident (Continued)

LAX05FA202
File No. 20639 06/12/2005 Los Angeles, CA Aircraft Reg No. N960SW Time (Local): 22:26 PDT

than the rest of the worldwide fleet. Simulations and static analysis on the friction force of the uplock was performed, specifically
detailing the interaction between the pin and the latch. As a result of the testing, areas of potential problems with the NLG extension
systems (both normal and manual) under adverse conditions were found to include: friction within the system and the sequencing of the
hydraulic pressure application. Bombardier subsequently modified the QRH procedure, adding another step to specifically recycle the gear
selector handle.
 Brief of Accident (Continued)

LAX05FA202
File No. 20639 06/12/2005 Los Angeles, CA Aircraft Reg No. N960SW Time (Local): 22:26 PDT

Occurrence #1: AIRFRAME/COMPONENT/SYSTEM FAILURE/MALFUNCTION

Phase of Operation: APPROACH

Findings
1. (C) LANDING GEAR,NORMAL RETRACTION/EXTENSION ASSEMBLY - MALFUNCTION
2. (C) LANDING GEAR,EMERGENCY EXTENSION ASSEMBLY - MALFUNCTION
3. (C) REASON FOR OCCURRENCE UNDETERMINED
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Occurrence #2: WHEELS UP LANDING

Phase of Operation: LANDING - FLARE/TOUCHDOWN

Findings Legend: (C) = Cause, (F) = Factor

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The National Transportation Safety Board determines the probable cause(s) of this accident as follows.
failure of the nose landing gear to extend to the down and locked position for undetermined reasons.