The FAA is requiring landing gear inspections for Boeing 717-200 aircraft after a recent incident.
In June 2023, Delta flight 1092 successfully landed at Charlotte Douglas International Airport in North Carolina despite its nose landing gear failing to deploy.
Photos of the incident posted on social media at the time showed the airplane parked on the runway with emergency slides deployed. No injuries were reported.
On Tuesday, the FAA published a new airworthiness directive (AD) detailing its report on the incident and mandating actions to be taken by operators.
The AD stated that during the Delta Boeing 717’s approach, its flight crew was alerted to an unsafe gear indication. While the aircraft’s two main landing gear deployed, its front nose landing gear stayed retracted.
The nose landing gear remained stuck despite an alternative deployment method by pilots, and the aircraft ultimately landed without using its front landing gear.
“A report released by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) identified that a failure of the upper lock link assembly caused the lower lock link assembly to swing down to a vertical position which contacted the NLG [nose landing gear] assembly,” the FAA stated in its directive. “The contact restricted the movement of the NLG and prevented it from moving out of the retracted position.”
The NTSB found that the root cause of this upper lock link assembly failure was due to nonconforming surface roughness from tool marks on the surface.
The FAA stated that this condition, if not addressed, could result in failure of the landing gear to fully extend, restricting ground maneuverability and increasing the risk of runway excursion.
The AD requires repetitive inspections for cracking of the upper lock link. According to reporting by Aviation Week, the instructions come from a Boeing alert requirements bulletin issued on Feb. 12.
The FAA estimated that this AD would affect 117 airplanes registered in the U.S., costing American operators $49,725 per inspection cycle. If replacement parts are deemed necessary, the agency estimated an additional cost to operators of $18,584.
The Aviation Week report stated that only two airlines — Hawaiian and Delta — still fly 717s with combined totals of 84 in service and 23 parked in long-term storage.
