Narrative:

I departed on a VFR flight. Upon reaching our destination; I lowered the gear; but only received indications that the main gear was down and locked. The nosewheel indicator did not illuminate and the in-transit light remained on. In the nacelle mirror; it was observed that the nose gear was trailing at about a 45 degree angle. I attempted to raise the gear; but nothing happened. I then performed the emergency extension procedure; but after about 20 pumps (50 are required normally); the handle offered no resistance; and I realized that I had probably pumped all the fluid overboard through whatever leak there was. At this point; I decided to return to our departure airport where a long paved runway and fire/rescue equipment was available. After a return flight of about an hour; I decided to burn off some more fuel. After another half-hour; it was time to land. I had my passengers move to the rearmost passenger seats to move my cg aft. On final; I turned off the master switch and opened the pilot door. Once the runway was assured; I shut off the engines and feathered the props. On landing; I kept the nosewheel off the ground as long as possible; but when it came down; it collapsed. I calmly evacuated the aircraft via the over wing emergency exit. During the entire event; I was in constant communication with my passengers; as well as with company pilots and mechanics via radio.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: PA31 pilot reported nose gear failed to extend normally at destination airport; and attempts at manual extension were also unsuccessful. Flight returned to their departure airport with a longer runway and a collapsed nose gear upon landing.

Narrative: I departed on a VFR flight. Upon reaching our destination; I lowered the gear; but only received indications that the main gear was down and locked. The nosewheel indicator did not illuminate and the in-transit light remained on. In the nacelle mirror; it was observed that the nose gear was trailing at about a 45 degree angle. I attempted to raise the gear; but nothing happened. I then performed the emergency extension procedure; but after about 20 pumps (50 are required normally); the handle offered no resistance; and I realized that I had probably pumped all the fluid overboard through whatever leak there was. At this point; I decided to return to our departure airport where a long paved runway and fire/rescue equipment was available. After a return flight of about an hour; I decided to burn off some more fuel. After another half-hour; it was time to land. I had my passengers move to the rearmost passenger seats to move my CG aft. On final; I turned off the master switch and opened the pilot door. Once the runway was assured; I shut off the engines and feathered the props. On landing; I kept the nosewheel off the ground as long as possible; but when it came down; it collapsed. I calmly evacuated the aircraft via the over wing emergency exit. During the entire event; I was in constant communication with my passengers; as well as with company pilots and mechanics via radio.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of April 2012 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.