Accident Description
The airplane was completing a cross-country flight and was on approach for landing. The pilot executed a normal touchdown with the main wheels contacting the runway first, followed by the nose wheel descending. Upon nose wheel contact, the airplane began to oscillate in a porpoising motion, experiencing three distinct bounces. During the third bounce, the nose wheel hub fractured, allowing the nose gear to collapse partially. The propeller then struck the runway surface, resulting in damage to the propeller blades and likely the engine.
Post-Accident Examination
Investigators examined the fractured nose wheel hub and associated fragments. The fracture surfaces were analyzed and determined to be consistent with overstress failure—the material had been subjected to loads exceeding its ultimate strength. No pre-existing cracks or manufacturing defects were identified. The pilot reported that the airplane had exhibited no mechanical anomalies prior to the accident flight.
Findings
The accident sequence was initiated by a bounced landing, which led to repetitive hard impacts on the nose gear. The cumulative stress from these impacts exceeded the structural capacity of the nose wheel hub, resulting in its catastrophic failure. The propeller strike occurred as a consequence of the nose gear collapse reducing ground clearance.