CHARLOTTE — A fractured mechanism prevented a landing gear from extending, which resulted in the emergency landing of Delta Flight 1092 on June 28 at the Charlotte Douglas International Airport, according to a preliminary report from the National Transportation Safety Board that was released on Tuesday.
The Boeing 717-200, a passenger flight from Atlanta, “sustained substantial damage when the nose landing gear did not extend before landing,” according to the report.
The flight crew reported the “nose wheel unsafe condition light” illuminated when it was 2,000 feet above the ground and a go-around was initiated.
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The crew tried to manually extend the landing gear, but it didn’t work.
“A linkage to hold it in place when it’s down, broke, and part of that swung around and jammed the landing gear in place so it couldn’t come down,” said Michael Lowrey, who has 20 years of aviation experience.
An emergency was declared, and the aircraft proceeded inbound to Runway 36L. Air traffic controllers told the flight crew the nose wheel wasn’t visible so they made another go-around.
The flight crew kept trying to manually extend the landing gear but inevitably proceeded to land the aircraft.
The pilot lowered the nose onto the runway at about 80 knots before the plane came to a stop, according to the report.
Everyone, including 104 passengers and crew, made it out safely after emergency slides were deployed.
The fractured lock link, cockpit voice recorder, and flight data recorder were sent to the NTSB lab.
The report explained what happened. However, there are still many questions.
“This case, it tells us kind of what happened, but not why it happened,” said Lowrey.
Maintenance records have been quarantined and are subject to review, officials said.
“Why did this piece of heavy steel break?” Lowrey said. “Is this a manufacturing issue with the steel component? Is it a maintenance issue?”
It could be months before the NTSB releases its findings.
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