What happened
Following a landing, the aircraft taxied on the ground at a relatively slow speed of approximately 5 mph. During this phase of ground operations, the nose gear assembly suddenly collapsed. The incident occurred while the aircraft was being maneuvered under its own power after completing its flight.
The investigation
A thorough examination of the landing gear system was conducted to determine the root cause of the structural failure. Investigators focused on the integrity of the gear truss components. The analysis revealed that a specific tubular part within the assembly had fractured. Further metallurgical inspection showed that the tube had suffered from severe corrosion originating from the inside surface. This internal rusting significantly weakened the structural integrity of the metal until it failed under load.
Findings
A critical factor in this accident was the failure of the annual inspection process to identify the defect before the flight. The routine check did not disclose any material problems with the gear truss. This oversight occurred because the corrosion that led to the fracture was located internally within the tubing. Consequently, the damage was not visible from the outside, allowing it to go undetected during standard visual inspections. The collapse was directly attributed to this hidden structural degradation rather than pilot error or external impact.