Incident Details
On June 14, 2015, a Bombardier DHC-8-400 aircraft operated by POLISH AIRLINES LOT was landing on runway 33 at Warsaw Chopin Airport (EPWA). A few seconds after touchdown, the nose steering caution light illuminated along with an associated aural warning. The flight crew lost the ability to control the nose landing gear using both pedals and the steering tiller. The crew informed air traffic control of the problem and advised that they would be vacating the runway slower than usual. To steer the aircraft on the ground, they used differential braking on the main landing gear wheels and differential thrust from the engines. After taxiing off runway 33 onto taxiway S2 and then onto taxiway A, the crew stopped the aircraft and reset the nose steering system. Following the reset, nose wheel steering was restored. The crew then taxied to the parking stand and made an appropriate entry in the aircraft technical log.
Maintenance Actions
A maintenance team inspected the nose landing gear shock absorber and the nose steering system. They found the shock absorber to be out of limit (OFF LIMIT) and observed wear on the number one wheel tire. The steering system functioned correctly during the inspection. The number one wheel and tire were replaced with new components. Maintenance work was performed on the shock absorber, and a re-inspection was scheduled after 50 flight hours. The aircraft was subsequently released for service.
Cause
The cause of the incident was a malfunction of the nose landing gear shock absorber.