What happened
On April 28, 2016, during routine maintenance activities at the Air Res Aviation maintenance base (CAMO) located at EPRZ (Jasionka Airport), a crack was discovered in the nose landing gear strut of a Tecnam P2008-JC. The inspection was being conducted as part of the implementation of manufacturer Service Bulletin SB 215 CS, which mandates a specialized inspection of the nose gear every 25 flight hours due to identified risks of component cracking during operations.
The investigation
The investigation, conducted by the operator, established that the defect was identified while performing the required inspections outlined in the manufacturer's service bulletin. The investigation focused on the operational conditions of the aircraft and the maintenance procedures in place at the time of the discovery.
Findings
- The primary cause of the incident was a design and operational characteristic of the nose landing gear strut.
- The use of the aircraft for flight training contributed to the occurrence, as training environments typically involve a high number of flight cycles and increased exposure to hard landings by student pilots.