What happened
The pilot stated that the aircraft ballooned upon initial touchdown due to an excessive approach airspeed. Consequently, the nose wheel came down hard during the second runway contact. After stopping briefly at Grand Canyon, the pilot departed on a flight to Las Vegas, Nevada. Upon arrival in Las Vegas, a routine postflight inspection revealed damage to the nose gear strut and firewall.
The investigation
No further mechanical examination details were provided in the source text.
Findings
- Excessive approach airspeed
- Nose wheel hard contact on second touchdown
- Damage to nose gear strut and firewall