Accident Overview
On March 3, 2017, about 1830 central standard time, a Mooney M20F airplane, registration N381LB, was substantially damaged during the landing roll at Hebron Municipal Airport (HJH), Hebron, Nebraska. The pilot was not injured. The airplane was registered to Intelligent Quality Solutions Inc. and operated by a private individual under 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as a personal flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and the local flight operated without a flight plan.
Sequence of Events
According to information received by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the pilot was conducting a touch-and-go landing when the airplane became uncontrollable and departed the left side of the runway. Documentation of the accident scene revealed that the airplane touched down about 400 feet past the threshold of runway 12. After approximately 1,000 feet, marks from the nose wheel indicated swerving. The swerving pattern increased, with tire tracks leading to the left side of the runway. During the runway excursion, the nose wheel separated from the airplane, and damage was sustained to the right wing spar.
Post-Accident Examination
Due to the airplane's position after the accident, the landing gear could not be examined on scene. After the airplane was recovered to the owner's hangar, without coordination from the investigator-in-charge, the airplane was put up for salvage before an examination of the nose gear assembly could be conducted. The pilot told the FAA inspector that in December 2016, he had experienced a porpoise landing and propeller strike. It could not be determined if that incident contributed to the loss of directional control of the nose wheel during this accident.