Incident Overview
During the landing roll following a sport parachute flight, the nose wheel of the airplane separated from the strut. The nose strut subsequently dug into the sod runway, and the airplane nosed over into an inverted position.
Post-Accident Inspection
An FAA inspector examined the airplane and noted that the nut and bolt which secured the nose wheel to the strut were absent. The missing hardware was not located at the scene. The inspector stated that there was no evidence that the bolt had broken.
Maintenance History
No maintenance to the nose wheel had been recorded recently. The last annual inspection was logged 8 months and 72 flight hours prior to the accident.
Conclusion
The incident occurred due to the absence of the nut and bolt securing the nose wheel, with no evidence of bolt failure.