Nose Gear Failure During Landing Roll Results in Runway Excursion (N6476G)

Incident Overview

During the landing roll, after the pilot had slowed the aircraft to approximately 30 to 35 knots, the aircraft suddenly veered to the right. An examination of the aircraft revealed that the nose gear fork had failed in two places. The fractures were located just below the strut attachment point and were directly across from one another. Subsequently, the nose wheel separated and the nose gear collapsed. The aircraft then continued traveling on its nose, veered off the runway, and struck an irrigation ditch.

Aircraft Usage History

It was noted that the aircraft had been used extensively for student training and was regularly operated into rough and unimproved fields. This operating environment may have contributed to the stress on the nose gear components over time, though the direct cause of the failure was the structural fracture of the fork.