On December 21, 2004, a Cessna 421C (registration N369RK) was involved in an aviation accident near Henderson, TX. Investigators recorded the probable cause as: The failure of the nose landing gear trunnion lug. A contributing factor was the non-compliance of the service bulletin by maintenance personnel. This summary draws on records from the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) historical archive.
During a maintenance flight, the pilot made a precautionary landing due to a rough running engine. After landing, the nose gear collapsed during taxi, revealing a fractured trunnion lug and non-compliance with a service bulletin.
Incident Details
A pilot conducting a maintenance flight experienced a rough running engine and elected to make a precautionary landing at Rusk County Airport (F12), near Henderson, Texas. After a normal landing on runway 16, the pilot back-taxied and began turning onto taxiway Bravo. During the turn, the airplane made an uncontrolled right turn, followed by the collapse of the nose landing gear.
Examination Findings
Post-incident examination of the aircraft revealed that the nose gear trunnion lug had fractured. This fracture resulted in the collapse of the nose landing gear and caused structural damage to the nose gear well.
Logbook Review
A review of the airplane's logbooks disclosed that Service Bulletin MEB88-5 Revision 2, which addresses trunnion lug failure, had not been complied with.