N3043T

On November 30, 2000, at approximately 1150 mountain standard time, a Cessna 320C, N3043T, was substantially damaged during landing at Centennial Airport, Englewood, Colorado. The airline transport pilot and his passenger were not injured. The pilot was operating the airplane under Title 14 CFR Part 91. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the local personal flight that originated approximately 30 minutes before the accident. The pilot had not filed a flight plan.

The pilot said that when he put the landing gear down for landing, the nose wheel landing gear light remained red. He flew by the tower for status confirmation. The tower controllers reported the nose wheel landing gear down, but not fully extended. The pilot landed the airplane, and let its nose settle to the runway. The airplane came to rest on the centerline of the runway. Postaccident examination (2 weeks after the event) by maintenance personnel determined that a nose gear extension rod had bent during retraction; subsequently, the nose gear failed to fully extend during landing gear extension. Two keel formers were bent during the landing.