Accident Summary
On June 17, 2017, about 0945 central daylight time, a Cessna 182A, registration N6196B, nosed over after landing on turf runway 17 at Mike's Place Airport (96OK) in Buffalo, Oklahoma. The two pilots and one passenger were not injured. The airplane sustained substantial damage to both wings, the fuselage, and the vertical stabilizer.
Aircraft and Flight Details
The airplane was registered to and operated by a private individual under 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as a personal flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident, and no flight plan had been filed. The flight departed Alva Regional Airport (AVK) in Alva, Oklahoma, about 0915 and was destined for Mike's Place Airport.
Accident Sequence
The pilot reported that the airplane touched down about midfield and the landing was normal until the nose wheel touched down. He heard a loud noise from the nose landing gear area. The airplane subsequently nosed over on the runway and came to rest inverted.
Post-Accident Examination
The landing path consisted of three parallel tire marks on the grass runway. A grease seal ring from the nose wheel assembly was found next to the center tire mark. The center tire mark transitioned into two parallel tracks in the grass, about 1 foot wide and extending for about 8 feet in a straight line. About 20 feet later, a single track with approximately 6 perpendicular slash marks was observed. The nose wheel axle tube was found near the end of the slash marks, and the single track continued to the main wreckage.
The responding Federal Aviation Administration inspector noted that the nose wheel had separated from the nose gear fork, and the fork had separated from the strut. A grease seal ring from the nose wheel assembly and a portion of the nose wheel axle tube were found in the debris path. The nose wheel axle bolt had separated and was not located. No preaccident anomalies were noted with the recovered components.
Maintenance Background
A review of the maintenance logbooks revealed that during the most recent annual inspection on April 8, 2017, the wheel bearings were packed. No other recent maintenance had been completed on the landing gear system.