Total Electrical Failure Leads to Manual Gear Extension and Hard Landing

Shortly after takeoff from Myrtle Beach International Airport, a private pilot experienced a total loss of electrical power. The aircraft turned back toward the departure airport, but the electrical failure also affected the system used to extend the landing gear.

The landing gear on the aircraft was extended and retracted by hydraulic actuators powered by an electrically driven hydraulic power pack. With the electrical system unavailable, the pilot attempted the emergency extension procedure using the manual gear-extension handle.

The pilot reported pumping the emergency handle about ten times before it felt as though there was no hydraulic pressure. He continued pumping for about 20 minutes but eventually concluded that the main landing gear was not going to extend normally.

The aircraft approached Runway 23 with the gear unlocked. The pilot reported gusting wind conditions, with winds from 260 degrees at 11 knots and gusts to 17 knots. During the flare he reduced power, the aircraft ballooned, then landed hard and bounced.

The main landing gear initially supported the airplane but then collapsed. During a subsequent bounce, the nose gear also collapsed. The airplane veered left, exited the runway and came to rest nose-down. The firewall sustained substantial damage.

Both occupants survived without injury. The pilot reported no pre-accident mechanical failure or malfunction with the airframe or engine that would have prevented normal operation before the electrical failure.

The event illustrates how one electrical failure can create a chain of secondary problems. The aircraft still had engine power and a usable runway, but the loss of electrical power removed the normal means of operating the landing-gear system and forced the pilot into a gear-emergency landing.

Accident Facts

Recorded line: “Shortly after takeoff the aircraft experienced a loss of electrical power and subsequent landing gear collapse during the return to land at the point of departure, Myrtle Beach International Airport (KMYR), Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.”

Sources

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cc-x1t-Nmx0