Embraer ERJ170 200LR incident near San Antonio, Texas, December 4, 2016
On December 4, 2016 at about 8:53 pm local time, a 2016 Embraer ERJ170 200LR, registered N161SY, suffered minor damage in an incident during landing (landing roll) near San Antonio, Texas (San Antonio Intl airport). It was flown under scheduled airline rules (Part 121). 1 person had minor injuries; 58 others were unhurt. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
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The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
A failure of the nose landing gear down lock spring which precluded normal downlock operation of the nose landing gear. The spring failure was due to the presence of too much retained austenite which led to the formation of progressive cracking and subsequent failure of the spring.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- December 4, 2016 · about 8:53 pm local time
- Place
- San Antonio, Texas · San Antonio Intl · map
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- 1 person had minor injuries; 58 others were unhurt.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Embraer ERJ170 200LR 200LR, built 2016 · all ERJ170 200LRs on the register
- Registration
- N161SY · registry record · serial 17000569
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Flight
- Flight · scheduled airline rules (Part 121)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
Based on the material laboratory examinations, the area around the failure point contained higher than allowable levels of retained austenite. The presence of too much retained austenite subsequently resulted in the formation of intergranular cracking. The intergranular cracking resulted in the formation of progressive cracking, which caused the separation and subsequent failure of the downlock spring. After the failure, the spring became lodged in the nose landing gear yoke, which prevented the nose gear from achieving a down and locked position. Without the NLG being fully down and locked, as the weight of the aircraft during landing was transferred to the nose and main landing gear, the NLG subsequently retracted back into the nose gear wheel.
The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
What happened, in order
- Landing gear collapse during landing (landing roll) defining event
The NTSB's findings
- cause Aircraft › Aircraft systems › Landing gear system › Gear extension and retract sys › Failure
Pilot
- Certificate: airline transport pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land
- Flight time: 2,814 hours in all; 189 in the last 90 days; 46 in the last 30 days; 685 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (with waivers/limitations)
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
Co-pilot
- Certificate: airline transport pilot, flight instructor
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane
- Flight time: 862 hours in all; 132 in the last 90 days; 27 in the last 30 days
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (without waivers/limitations)
- Seat: rgt
- Injury: no injuries
Cabin Crew
- Seat: unk
- Injury: no injuries
Cabin Crew
- Seat: unk
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 1,307.3 hours
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme, November 29, 2016
- Maximum gross weight: 85,517 lb
- Seats: 80
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine 1: General Electric CF34-8E5 (turbofan); 1,307 hours total
- Engine 2: General Electric CF34-8E5 (turbofan); 1,307 hours total
- Operator: Skywest Airlines INC
The flight
- Departed from: IAH Houston TX at 5:53 pm
- Destination: MMTY Monterrey
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 04, 8,505 ft by 150 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 020° at 10 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 1,300 ft
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
- Altimeter: 29.79 inHg
- Observation at 6:51 pm from KSAT
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flight crew | 4 | |||
| LapC | 4 | |||
| Passengers | 1 | 50 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), has not been read from the NTSB for this case yet; the list appears here once it has. Open the docket at the NTSB.
About this page
Everything above comes from the NTSB's public accident database: the narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words, and the coded tables behind its report (pilot, aircraft, flight, weather, injuries, sequence of events) are written out in plain English. Pilots' ages, home towns and medical details are left out on purpose. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, the folder of records gathered during the investigation, shown as the NTSB released them (the NTSB redacts some personal details first) and listed under the NTSB's own titles. This site's own text never names pilots, passengers or anyone else involved. A preliminary report describes what is known soon after the event and can change; the final report, with the probable cause, usually follows one to two years later and this page is refreshed when it does. Case number ENG17IA005.