What happened
During the landing phase, the pilot of the aircraft performed a landing that was described as fairly stabilized, though the pilot noted being late with the approach setup. Upon touchdown of the main landing gear, the nose of the aircraft immediately dropped to the runway. The aircraft came to rest traveling straight down the runway, remaining approximately on the centerline.
The impact resulted in substantial damage to the aircraft, characterized by a collapsed nose landing gear and wrinkling of the fuselage.
The investigation
A post-accident examination revealed that the nose landing gear was in a retracted position within the wheel well at the time of the incident. The remaining sections of the nose landing gear doors were found wedged behind the landing gear strut. Additionally, the lower, outboard section of the fuselage exhibited wrinkling extending from the nose landing gear to a point approximately level with the windshield.
The aircraft manufacturer confirmed that the nose landing gear doors are mechanically actuated.