Narrative:

I own an small aircraft. I have in excess of 450 hours in type. My incident occurred on feb/sun/93 at about XA30 am. The temperature that morning was very cold (10-15 degrees) and had been down near 0 degrees. This was the first morning in 5 yrs I've owned this plane that I had to use preheat to get it started. When I was landing my nose gear failed to get all the way down and/or locked. I remember going through my gump check on downwind. I was coming in on final at a very slow speed with full flaps as there was a plane getting off the runway. It touched down at about 65 on the mains. The nose gear touched down, went a few ft and collapsed. I don't think I slid more than 50 ft. There is very little damage to the understructure cowling. There is so little damage the mechanic said it will not require a major repair and alteration form. The propeller will, however, have to be replaced and the engine torn down and inspected. I have gone over this a hundred times in my mind as to what went wrong. I cannot honestly say I was positive I had 3 green landing lights indicating gear down and locked. I am very attentive to this and, in fact once before, I did a fly- by for visual reference when 1 of the green lights was not on. It turned out to be a loose bulb. I do not know if the extremely cold WX could have caused the gear to react so slowly. When taking off that morning the gear didn't seem like they wanted to come up. In fact I used the gear override lever and it still took them unusually long to get up and locked. The gear override lever itself was difficult to pull up. I might add that my plane has an automatic gear lowering system to prevent gear up lndgs. This system must have also failed or it would have automatically dropped and locked the gear, unless there was something preventing it from doing so. My mechanic is going to check the entire system thoroughly. As to prevent such an incident in the future, I probably will not fly when it's that cold. If I encounter the slow gear up situation I will cycle the landing gear system several times to make sure everything is working before I even get close to the pattern. I guess I'm just thankful the 2 mains got down and locked.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: SMA NOSE GEAR COLLAPSES ON LNDG PROC ROLLOUT.

Narrative: I OWN AN SMA. I HAVE IN EXCESS OF 450 HRS IN TYPE. MY INCIDENT OCCURRED ON FEB/SUN/93 AT ABOUT XA30 AM. THE TEMP THAT MORNING WAS VERY COLD (10-15 DEGS) AND HAD BEEN DOWN NEAR 0 DEGS. THIS WAS THE FIRST MORNING IN 5 YRS I'VE OWNED THIS PLANE THAT I HAD TO USE PREHEAT TO GET IT STARTED. WHEN I WAS LNDG MY NOSE GEAR FAILED TO GET ALL THE WAY DOWN AND/OR LOCKED. I REMEMBER GOING THROUGH MY GUMP CHK ON DOWNWIND. I WAS COMING IN ON FINAL AT A VERY SLOW SPD WITH FULL FLAPS AS THERE WAS A PLANE GETTING OFF THE RWY. IT TOUCHED DOWN AT ABOUT 65 ON THE MAINS. THE NOSE GEAR TOUCHED DOWN, WENT A FEW FT AND COLLAPSED. I DON'T THINK I SLID MORE THAN 50 FT. THERE IS VERY LITTLE DAMAGE TO THE UNDERSTRUCTURE COWLING. THERE IS SO LITTLE DAMAGE THE MECH SAID IT WILL NOT REQUIRE A MAJOR REPAIR AND ALTERATION FORM. THE PROP WILL, HOWEVER, HAVE TO BE REPLACED AND THE ENG TORN DOWN AND INSPECTED. I HAVE GONE OVER THIS A HUNDRED TIMES IN MY MIND AS TO WHAT WENT WRONG. I CANNOT HONESTLY SAY I WAS POSITIVE I HAD 3 GREEN LNDG LIGHTS INDICATING GEAR DOWN AND LOCKED. I AM VERY ATTENTIVE TO THIS AND, IN FACT ONCE BEFORE, I DID A FLY- BY FOR VISUAL REF WHEN 1 OF THE GREEN LIGHTS WAS NOT ON. IT TURNED OUT TO BE A LOOSE BULB. I DO NOT KNOW IF THE EXTREMELY COLD WX COULD HAVE CAUSED THE GEAR TO REACT SO SLOWLY. WHEN TAKING OFF THAT MORNING THE GEAR DIDN'T SEEM LIKE THEY WANTED TO COME UP. IN FACT I USED THE GEAR OVERRIDE LEVER AND IT STILL TOOK THEM UNUSUALLY LONG TO GET UP AND LOCKED. THE GEAR OVERRIDE LEVER ITSELF WAS DIFFICULT TO PULL UP. I MIGHT ADD THAT MY PLANE HAS AN AUTOMATIC GEAR LOWERING SYS TO PREVENT GEAR UP LNDGS. THIS SYS MUST HAVE ALSO FAILED OR IT WOULD HAVE AUTOMATICALLY DROPPED AND LOCKED THE GEAR, UNLESS THERE WAS SOMETHING PREVENTING IT FROM DOING SO. MY MECH IS GOING TO CHK THE ENTIRE SYS THOROUGHLY. AS TO PREVENT SUCH AN INCIDENT IN THE FUTURE, I PROBABLY WILL NOT FLY WHEN IT'S THAT COLD. IF I ENCOUNTER THE SLOW GEAR UP SIT I WILL CYCLE THE LNDG GEAR SYS SEVERAL TIMES TO MAKE SURE EVERYTHING IS WORKING BEFORE I EVEN GET CLOSE TO THE PATTERN. I GUESS I'M JUST THANKFUL THE 2 MAINS GOT DOWN AND LOCKED.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of July 2007 and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.