Bombardier Aerospace expressed “regrets” this week over a March 13, 2007, accident involving a Q400 turboprop at Japan’s Kochi Airport after the Japanese Aircraft and Railway Accidents Investigation Commission (JARAIC) found that a missing bolt caused the airplane’s nose landing gear door to jam, forcing a gear-up landing. None of the 60 passengers and crew aboard the ANA/Air Central flight sustained injuries in the accident.
The JARAIC’s final report concludes that Bombardier maintenance crew failed to install the bolt in question–located on the landing gear door operating linkage–during repair work in summer 2005, days after the airplane rolled off the assembly line. Workers had accidentally damaged the landing gear doors during testing on June 16, 2005, and replaced some of the components four days later. However, the missing bolt caused a bushing to slide out of position by about 1 centimeter, causing the landing gear door to jam against surrounding components.
