Nose wheel shimmy causes aircraft to upend during landing rollout (N2315P)

What happened

The pilot reported that the initial phase of the landing was normal until the aircraft began to slow down on the runway. At this point, a violent nose wheel shimmy developed. The sudden oscillation caused the airplane to veer sharply to the left and upend.

The investigation

Following the incident, Federal Aviation Administration inspectors examined the aircraft to determine the mechanical cause of the instability. Their inspection revealed that the nosewheel shimmy damper was loose, which likely allowed the excessive oscillation that led to the accident.

Findings

Contributing factors included the pilot's limited experience with the specific aircraft type and the mechanical failure of the nose gear system. The pilot had accumulated a total flight time of 37 hours in this make and model of airplane at the time of the event.