Incident Overview
On April 19, 2010, at approximately 1600 Pacific daylight time, a Cessna T206H (registration N6045C) suffered a nose gear collapse following a runway excursion at Fullerton Municipal Airport in Fullerton, California. The Orange County Sheriff’s Department operated the aircraft under 14 CFR Part 91. The certificated commercial pilot and one passenger were not injured, but the airplane sustained substantial damage to the firewall due to impact forces.
Flight Details
The flight departed Fullerton around 1240. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed. The pilot was landing on runway 24. The air traffic control tower (ATCT) reported winds from 220 degrees at 6 knots.
Landing Sequence
During the approach, the pilot encountered light to moderate turbulence. As the aircraft crossed over the airport fence on short final, the airspeed was 69 knots. While leveling off over the runway, the pilot encountered wind shear. The airplane rose rapidly and then fell abruptly, causing the left main wheel to hit the runway hard. The pilot stated that a left crosswind lifted the left wing, causing the airplane to veer left. He corrected with left aileron and right rudder but could not prevent the aircraft from skidding off the left side of the runway into dirt. The left main landing gear struck a taxiway/runway sign, the nose gear collapsed, and the propeller contacted the ground.
Post-Accident Observations
The pilot reported that the ATCT informed him his left brake may have locked up. He indicated he did not apply left brake during landing and was unsure if the brake malfunctioned after the hard impact. Two Federal Aviation Administration inspectors examined the aircraft post-accident and found no evidence of the left brake locking up. They provided a photograph showing two parallel skid marks of similar size leading off the runway into the dirt.