What happened
The aircraft executed a landing characterized by a nose-high attitude upon initial contact. The main wheels touched down firmly, causing the tail skid to make contact with and drag along the runway surface. This resulted in a hard impact that persisted as the aircraft continued its rollout.
Subsequently, the nose wheel struck the runway with significant force. The structural integrity of the nose landing gear was compromised by this impact, leading to a collapse of the assembly. The pilot later analyzed the sequence of events and attributed the mishandling of the landing to two primary factors: a lack of consistency in recent flying experience and an inability to properly compensate for a downdraft encountered on the final approach.
The investigation
The pilot provided a direct explanation for the operational errors that led to the accident. He identified his recent flight habits as inconsistent, which likely contributed to degraded proficiency in handling specific landing scenarios. Additionally, he acknowledged failing to adjust his flight path or technique adequately to counteract the effects of a downdraft during the critical final approach phase.
Findings
The physical damage was consistent with the pilot's description of a hard touchdown and subsequent nose gear impact. The failure to maintain proper pitch control resulted in the tail skid drag, while the excessive descent rate caused the nose gear failure. The contributing factors were identified as the pilot's lack of recent consistent experience and the failure to compensate for atmospheric conditions.