ASN Aircraft accident GAF Nomad N.22C VH-ATO Buka Airport (BUA)
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Status:Accident investigation report completed and information captured
Date:Friday 8 December 2017
Time:10:17
Type:Silhouette image of generic NOMA model; specific model in this crash may look slightly different
GAF Nomad N.22C
Operator:Bayswater Road Ltd.
Registration: VH-ATO
MSN: 108
First flight: 1979
Total airframe hrs:11053
Engines: 2 Allison 250-B17C
Crew:Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1
Passengers:Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 0
Total:Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1
Aircraft damage: Substantial
Location:Buka Airport (BUA) (   Papua New Guinea)
Phase: Landing (LDG)
Nature:Survey/research
Departure airport:Buka Airport (BUA/AYBK), Papua New Guinea
Destination airport:Buka Airport (BUA/AYBK), Papua New Guinea
Narrative:
The GAF Nomad aircraft, registered VH-ATO, owned and operated by Bayswater Road Ltd, departed Buka Airport, conducting an aerial survey under VFR. The pilot-in-command was the sole occupant.
The pilot reported that when doing the pre-landing checks the landing gear failed to extend. He attempted to deploy the landing gear using the emergency system (which consists in a manual pump), but the handle of the manual pump broke after three to four pumps. The pilot decided to perform a landing in the grassy flight strip, which was about 32 metres to the right of the sealed runway centerline.
There was significant damage to both landing-gear pods and the nose forward of the nose locker. The landing gear doors had significant skin damage and were not aligned with the pods. The nose cone was punctured and torn on the underside. The lower attachment points of both wings’ struts came into contact with the landing-gear pods and fracturing the pods side skins. The trailing skin on the left lower strut was bent.

Probable Cause:

AIC comment:
The landing gear system was examined including the electrical wiring. The wire to the up-lock switch on the right land gear had fractured and separated, rendering the normal landing gear extension system inoperative.
Excessive force due to the resistance of the locked-up landing gear extension motor during the pumping to extend the gear manually, likely contributed to the overload failure of the handle.

Accident investigation:

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Investigating agency: AIC PNG
Status: Investigation completed
Duration: 146 days (5 months)
Accident number: AIC 17-1003
Download report: Final report

Classification:
Gear-up landing
Forced landing outside airport

Photos

photo of GAF-Nomad-N-22C-VH-ATO
accident date: 08-12-2017
type: GAF Nomad N.22C
registration: VH-ATO
photo of GAF-Nomad-N-22C-VH-ATO
accident date: 08-12-2017
type: GAF Nomad N.22C
registration: VH-ATO
 

Map

This information is not presented as the Flight Safety Foundation or the Aviation Safety Network’s opinion as to the cause of the accident. It is preliminary and is based on the facts as they are known at this time.
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