CHARLOTTE — Just two weeks after a Delta plane from Atlanta with 104 people on it “belly landed” on a runway at Charlotte-Douglas Airport in Charlotte, we now know why the crew wasn’t able to get the front landing gear to drop.
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This week, National Transportation Safety Board released its preliminary report on what caused the landing gear to stick and not come down while the plane was preparing to land.
According to the report, when the plane was roughly 2,000 feet above ground level, the first officer made his first attempt at dropping the gear. When the switch was flipped, a warning light came on, indicating an “unsafe condition.” The crew then tried troubleshooting the problem, initiating a workaround procedure, but that did not work either.
Once they realized the problem, the pilot notified air traffic control and the plane continued its approach to the airport. Once the plane got low enough and close enough to the tower for controllers to see for themselves, the pilot was told the nose wheel had not come down, and that a second “go-around” should be tried.
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The report said the crew continued trying to lower the nose wheel but could not get it to move to the proper position for a landing. At that point, the decision was made to attempt the “belly landing.”
According to the report, the plane was traveling at approximately 80 knots when the nose was lowered onto the runway and the pilot was able to bring the plane to a stop in front of fire and rescue crews. All passengers and crew were then safely evacuated from the Boeing 717-200.
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The NTSB investigation revealed why the landing gear wouldn’t drop. Investigators explained that a fractured upper lock link allowed the lower lock link to swing down into a vertical position, making contact with the landing gear assembly and restricting its movement.
The broken lock link was sent to the NTSB materials lab for examination. Investigators also have the plane’s maintenance records and will be reviewing those before issuing their final report.
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