Accident Armstrong Whitworth AW-650 Argosy 222 ZK-SAF,
ASN logo
ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 326068
 

Date:Sunday 1 April 1990
Time:
Type:Silhouette image of generic aw65 model; specific model in this crash may look slightly different    
Armstrong Whitworth AW-650 Argosy 222
Owner/operator:SAFE Air
Registration: ZK-SAF
MSN: 6801
Year of manufacture:1965
Total airframe hrs:47035 hours
Cycles:36329 flights
Engine model:Rolls-Royce Dart 532-1
Fatalities:Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 2
Aircraft damage: Destroyed, written off
Category:Accident
Location:Blenheim-Woodbourne Airport (BHE) -   New Zealand
Phase: Landing
Nature:Cargo
Departure airport:Christchurch International Airport (CHC/NZCH)
Destination airport:Wellington International Airport (WLG/NZWN)
Narrative:
The crew of the Argosy cargo plane aborted the approach to their destination of Wellington Airport because the left hand undercarriage failed to lock down.
It was decided to divert to Blenheim-Woodbourne Airport (BHE) where the SAFE Air engineering base was located.
During landing rollout the left main undercarriage collapsed and the airplane veered off the side of runway 25.

The failure of the left main undercarriage to fully extend was caused by the seizure of the piston rod within the undercarriage jack assembly. The piston rod and the spring housing through which it passed had become scored, eventually resulting in the seizure. The piston rod had been installed, new, in the jack assembly some seven months earlier and had completed 787 landings. Further investigation found that the synthetic wiper ring had been installed incorrectly and would allow foreign material to find its way into the spring housing when the undercarriage was retracted. Additionally, hydraulic components on the undercarriage may have become contaminated during cleaning in an inadequately filtered cleaning booth, which was also used for general cleaning involving the use of abrasive pads.

Sources:

Kiwi Aircraft Images: Armstrong-Whitworth AW650 Argosy

Location

Images:


photo (c) via Werner Fischdick; Cambridge Airport (CBG); October 1982

Revision history:

Date/timeContributorUpdates

The Aviation Safety Network is an exclusive service provided by:
Quick Links:

CONNECT WITH US: FSF on social media FSF Facebook FSF Twitter FSF Youtube FSF LinkedIn FSF Instagram

©2024 Flight Safety Foundation

1920 Ballenger Av, 4th Fl.
Alexandria, Virginia 22314
www.FlightSafety.org