Incident Details
On 28 July 2016, at approximately 17:00 UTC, the pilot of a Beechcraft A-36 Bonanza, registration SP-KTZ, conducted flights in the vicinity of the private airstrip in Niemstów. During the landing after the second flight of the day, the nose gear retracted upon touchdown. The cockpit indication had shown the gear to be down and locked. After the aircraft's tail was lifted, the nose gear extended from its bay but failed to lock into place. The aircraft was subsequently moved to the hangar.
Damage
The incident resulted in destruction of the propeller blades, damage to the nose gear bay doors, and damage to the lower engine cowling. The engine required a special inspection following a sudden stoppage (propeller strike).
Technical Investigation
A technical investigation was commissioned by the aircraft owner and carried out by Helitec of Oppin, Germany. The investigation revealed excessive play between the bushings and pins of the nose gear attachment to the fuselage, as well as in the bushings of the nose gear scissors. This play was determined to be caused by operational factors: the aircraft had been operated from airports with unpaved surfaces, which led to increased loads during taxiing and accelerated wear of the pins and bushings in the pivot joints of the nose gear kinematics.
Conclusion
The investigation concluded that the nose gear collapse resulted from operational wear, accelerated by the use of the aircraft from airports with unpaved surfaces. No safety recommendations were issued.