Incident Sequence
Upon completion of a local flight, the pilot returned to his home airport and began an approach to the runway. The airplane touched down on the runway with the main landing gear. However, it bounced back into the air and made a second touchdown, this time with the nose landing gear contacting the runway first. Immediately following the second touchdown, the nose landing gear tire separated from the landing gear. The airplane continued down the runway while riding on the wheel's rim. Subsequently, the remaining lower portion of the nose landing gear broke away from the airplane. The airplane eventually came to a stop on the runway.
Post-Accident Examination
Federal Aviation Administration inspectors conducted an examination of the runway and the airplane after the accident. They determined that the distance between the point of initial impact and the location where the airplane came to rest was approximately 300 feet. The separated components of the nose landing gear—including the tire, wheel rim, landing gear fork, and up-position microswitch—were recovered from the runway. A detailed post-accident inspection of the airplane found no evidence of any mechanical malfunctions or failures that existed prior to impact that would have precluded normal operation. The inspection also documented substantial damage to the firewall and the lower portion of the fuselage.