Incident Description
During a landing on runway 8L, which measures 10,496 feet by 150 feet and is asphalt, the pilot reported that the touchdown was normal. After pushing the nose forward and beginning to deploy the thrust reversers, the front of the aircraft began to veer and then oscillate up and down. The pilot described the airplane as feeling 'very stiff up front as if it had hit something.' Subsequently, the aircraft became airborne again, touched down once more, and went off the side of the runway. Control tower personnel indicated that from their observation, the landing appeared to be a 'hard landing.'
Previous Incident
The pilot recalled a separate event that had occurred approximately one year before this incident. In that event, another pilot had inadvertently taxied the airplane off a runway and become mired in mud. To retrieve the aircraft, a recovery crew wrapped a cable around the nose wheel strut and winched the airplane out of the mud. According to the pilot, the aircraft's steering had not been the same since that previous excursion.
Maintenance Records
A review of the airplane's maintenance records revealed no entries made as a result of the earlier runway excursion involving the mud. No documentation of any corrective actions or inspections related to the nose wheel steering issue was found.