What happened
During the landing flare, the pilot reported that the aircraft touched down on the landing gear before briefly rising back into the air. The pilot attempted to hold the aircraft in ground effect; however, as the plane settled back toward the runway, the nose gear collapsed upon contact with the ground. Witnesses at the scene reported that the landing gear was extended at the time of touchdown.
The investigation
Mechanical examination focused on the landing gear assembly and surrounding structures. Investigators found that both the left and right nose gear doors remained attached to the airframe along their full hinge lengths. While the right nose gear door showed no damage, the left nose gear door exhibited scrape marks on the vent fins and a localized scrape mark on the inboard edge. This specific mark aligned with the position of the nosewheel tire when in the retracted position.
No damage was found on the nose gear assembly itself. Regarding the main landing gear, the right main gear showed no damage to the door or wheel hub cap, though the radar pod located beneath the right wing sustained scrape damage. The left main landing gear doors and hub caps were intact, though the left wheel hub cap showed scraping around its entire center circumference. Functional testing of the landing gear system showed no evidence of malfunction.