N56MB

On October 27, 2006, about 1345 mountain standard time, a Cessna 310N, N56MB, experienced a propeller strike and collision with the runway during landing at the Lake Havasu City Airport, Lake Havasu City, Arizona. Air Michelle was operating the airplane under the provisions of 14 CFR Part 91. The private pilot and two passengers were not injured; the airplane sustained substantial damage. The personal cross-country flight originated from John Wayne-Orange County Airport, Santa Ana, California, about 1220 Pacific daylight time, with a planned destination of Lake Havasu City. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and a flight plan had not been filed.

The National Transportation Safety Board investigator-in-charge (IIC) interviewed the pilot immediately following the accident. He stated that he lowered the landing gear to the down and locked position while on the downwind leg of the traffic pattern for runway 32. During the landing flare, the pilot audibly distinguished an abnormal sound. He opted to abort the landing and manipulated the throttle control to the maximum power position. While climbing to the crosswind leg, the pilot noted that the airplane's performance was not sufficient to complete a landing pattern. He maneuvered the airplane in a 180-degree turn back to the runway (heading 140 degrees). As the airplane touched down, the pilot experienced a loss of control. The airplane veered to the left and departed the runway surface, subsequently encountering a dirt area. After egressing the airplane, the pilot noticed that the left main landing gear had collapsed and propeller blades on both engines appeared to have contacted the ground; the nose and right gear were in the down and locked position.

During a telephone conversation with the Safety Board IIC, a witness reported that he observed the airplane approaching the runway, with the landing gear in the up position. The airplane continued to the runway in the gear-up configuration, until the left propeller stuck the runway surface. The airplane then became airborne and the landing gear dropped into the down position. The airplane appeared to make a left turn and then intercepted the runway in the opposite direction.

A Federal Aviation Administration certified aircraft mechanic performed an examination of the airplane shortly after the accident. He stated that he found no mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded the landing gear from operating normally.