Approach and Landing Gear Issue
The airplane was on final approach when the flightcrew attempted to lower the landing gear. The nose gear indicator red light remained illuminated, and the nose landing gear indicator pin did not extend.
Low Approach and Ground Observation
The flightcrew performed a low approach. Ground personnel stated that the nose gear doors were partially open.
Emergency Landing
The flightcrew subsequently performed an emergency landing with the nose landing gear retracted. After the airplane came to a stop, the passengers deplaned via the aft door exit.
Examination of the Airplane
Examination of the airplane revealed that the nose landing gear spray deflector was fractured near the middle and found in two sections. The right section of the spray deflector had rotated about 180 degrees and was found wedged between the nose landing gear and the right side of the wheel-well structure. The nose landing gear tire was above the wedged spray deflector section. The left section of the spray deflector was found in its original position, which was forward, with the nose landing gear retracted.
There was evidence of yellow paint transfer on the right upper surface (aft corner) of the spray deflector. Similar paint marks were observed on the left bottom surface (forward corner) of the spray deflector section. In addition, yellow paint chips were found embedded under a screw head at that location. The distance between the two yellow paint marks was approximately 29 inches.
Tow Bar Incident
The tow operator who participated in the pushback of the airplane prior to takeoff stated that the tow bar became disconnected while the airplane was being towed; however, he did not observe any damage to the airplane. The tow bar was painted yellow and the distance between the tow bar forks was approximately 30 inches.