Incident Overview
During the takeoff roll, as the aircraft rotated, the nose landing gear separated from the airframe and remained on the runway surface. As the aircraft passed over the dislodged gear assembly, the belly of the aircraft sustained damage. Despite the loss of the nose gear, the takeoff was completed, and the crew subsequently conducted an emergency landing. The landing was performed with the main landing gear and the stub of the nose landing gear shock strut extended.
Post-Incident Examination
Following the incident, disassembly of the shock strut inner cylinder was carried out. The examination revealed that several parts were missing from a sealed area within the assembly. Notably, the integrity of the sealed area had not been compromised, indicating that the missing components had been absent prior to the event. This condition allowed a retention nut to loosen and eventually back off, which led to the separation of the nose gear.
Maintenance History
The nose landing gear assembly had undergone an overhaul on September 4, 1985.