Event FTW02LA091

Factual narrative

On March 12, 2002, at 0830 mountain standard time, a Cessna 402C airplane, N38CJ, registered to and operated by Aero Charter and Transport of Albuquerque, New Mexico, was substantially damaged when its right main landing gear collapsed while landing on runway 3 at the Albuquerque International Airport, Albuquerque, New Mexico. The commercial pilot, who was the sole occupant, was not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and an instrument flight rules (IFR) flight plan was filed for the Title14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 135 cargo flight. The flight originated from Show Low, Arizona, at 0740. According to information provided in the enclosed NTSB Pilot/Operator Accident Report (NTSB Form 6120.1/2), the pilot passed the outer marker and lowered the landing gear with "three greens and everything looked normal." He touched down on the runway at the fixed distance markers, held the nose off the ground, and the "plane felt as if the main gear (RH) was locked and I was riding the brakes." After he released pressure on the rudder, the plane drifted to the right, so the pilot lowered the nose wheel to gain steering control to no avail. Subsequently, the plane continued to drift and the left propeller struck the ground and the nose landing gear collapsed, resulting in structural damage to the fuselage. Examination of the airplane revealed that the left main landing gear had collapsed upon landing. Further examination showed that the left main landing gear Torque Link Assembly P/N 5141005-7 (scissors assembly) had failed. A maintenance document provided by the operator dated March 7, 2002, had an annotation, "Item #23", that read, "L/H & R/H main bushings are worn on scissors." The "Corrective Action" section for Item #23 showed and annotation that the old bushings were removed and replaced. The document showed that the nose gear scissors bushings were also removed and replaced. The aircraft total time annotated on this document was 12, 737.2 hours. The aircraft total time at the accident was 12, 759.3 hours, thus the aircraft had flown 22.1 flight hours since the maintenance performed on the landing gear. The pilot of the Part 135 cargo flight passed the outer marker and lowered the landing gear with "three greens and everything looked normal." He touched down on the runway at the fixed distance markers, held the nose off the ground, and the "plane felt as if the main gear (RH) was locked and I was riding the brakes." After he released pressure on the rudder, the plane drifted to the right, so the pilot lowered the nose wheel to gain steering control to no avail. Subsequently, the plane continued to drift and the left propeller struck the ground and the nose landing gear collapsed. Examination of the airplane revealed that the left main landing gear had collapsed upon landing. Further examination showed that the left main landing gear Torque Link Assembly P/N 5141005-7 (scissors assembly) had failed. Maintenance had been performed (removed and replaced worn bushings) on the main and nose landing gear scissors assemblies 22.1 hours prior to the accident. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12