What happened
Following touchdown, the aircraft began taxiing toward its parking area. During this ground maneuver, the pilot observed that the steering response had become unusually stiff. Suspecting a mechanical issue, he brought the airplane to a halt and conducted an external inspection of the nose landing gear assembly.
The examination revealed that the nose gear strut had pivoted forward from its normal position. The wheel was resting directly against the interior surface of the nose cowling, indicating a loss of structural alignment within the gear bay.
The investigation
A mechanic performed a detailed assessment of the nose landing gear components to determine the root cause of the displacement. The inspection focused on the drag link assembly, which is responsible for maintaining the lateral stability and alignment of the gear strut during ground operations.
The mechanic identified that the aft bolt securing the drag link had failed. This failure allowed the drag link to separate completely from its attachment point on the secondary firewall. Without this critical connection, the nose gear was free to pivot forward under the forces encountered during taxiing.