Nose gear unsafe warning.

Attributes
ACN	82491
Time
Date	198802
Day	Wed
Local Time Of Day	0601 To 1200
Place
Locale Reference	airport : mci
State Reference	MO
Altitude	msl bound lower : 2500 msl bound upper : 2500
Environment
Flight Conditions	VMC
Light	Daylight
Aircraft 1
Controlling Facilities	tower : mci
Operator	common carrier : air carrier
Make Model Name	Medium Large Transport, Low Wing, 2 Turbojet Eng
Flight Phase	descent : approach
Flight Plan	IFR
Person 1
Affiliation	company : air carrier
Function	flight crew : first officer
Experience	flight time last 90 days : 180 flight time total : 12500 flight time type : 2000
ASRS Report	82491
Person 2
Function	flight crew : captain oversight : pic
Qualification	pilot : atp
Events
Anomaly	aircraft equipment problem : critical
Independent Detector	aircraft equipment other aircraft equipment : unspecified other flight crewa
Resolutory Action	flight crew : overcame equipment problem
Consequence	faa : reviewed incident with flight crew
Supplementary
Primary Problem	Aircraft
Air Traffic Incident	other

Narrative:

On final we put the gear down--nose gear showed red light and no green. We recycled the gear--no change. We flew by the tower at 1000' AGL--they confirmed it appeared to be down. We had heard it come out of the wheel well so we knew, at least, it was not up. We had an observer (company pilot) on the jump seat and after flying by the tower he looked through the viewport in the floor and confirmed the gear was fully extended. He also helped find and pull the aural warning circuit breaker. We landed uneventfully. The problem turned out to be proximity switch linkage not positioning correctly. We found three previous write ups in the log book and the non-company mechanic at mci said our company told him this was the seventh time this had happened. Two observations: 1) it shouldn't take seven times to fix a simple problem like this. Airplanes have crashed in the past due to similar problems. 2) the observer, who normally isn't there, was a big help and allowed both pilots to stay in their seats during this high work load period.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: NOSE GEAR UNSAFE WARNING.

Narrative: ON FINAL WE PUT THE GEAR DOWN--NOSE GEAR SHOWED RED LIGHT AND NO GREEN. WE RECYCLED THE GEAR--NO CHANGE. WE FLEW BY THE TWR AT 1000' AGL--THEY CONFIRMED IT APPEARED TO BE DOWN. WE HAD HEARD IT COME OUT OF THE WHEEL WELL SO WE KNEW, AT LEAST, IT WAS NOT UP. WE HAD AN OBSERVER (COMPANY PLT) ON THE JUMP SEAT AND AFTER FLYING BY THE TWR HE LOOKED THROUGH THE VIEWPORT IN THE FLOOR AND CONFIRMED THE GEAR WAS FULLY EXTENDED. HE ALSO HELPED FIND AND PULL THE AURAL WARNING CIRCUIT BREAKER. WE LANDED UNEVENTFULLY. THE PROBLEM TURNED OUT TO BE PROXIMITY SWITCH LINKAGE NOT POSITIONING CORRECTLY. WE FOUND THREE PREVIOUS WRITE UPS IN THE LOG BOOK AND THE NON-COMPANY MECHANIC AT MCI SAID OUR COMPANY TOLD HIM THIS WAS THE SEVENTH TIME THIS HAD HAPPENED. TWO OBSERVATIONS: 1) IT SHOULDN'T TAKE SEVEN TIMES TO FIX A SIMPLE PROBLEM LIKE THIS. AIRPLANES HAVE CRASHED IN THE PAST DUE TO SIMILAR PROBLEMS. 2) THE OBSERVER, WHO NORMALLY ISN'T THERE, WAS A BIG HELP AND ALLOWED BOTH PILOTS TO STAY IN THEIR SEATS DURING THIS HIGH WORK LOAD PERIOD.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of August 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.