Incident Overview
On 22 June 2023, at 15:00 local time, a pilot holding a Private Pilot License (PPL(A)) departed from Szymanow Airport (EPWS) in a Tecnam P2008-JC, registration SP-MGT, for a cross-country navigation flight. At 18:00, the pilot performed a normal approach to runway 14L. Upon touchdown, the nose wheel separated and the nose landing gear strut fractured.
Damage and Injuries
The aircraft sustained damage to the nose landing gear strut, propeller, and lower engine cowlings. The pilot exited the aircraft without assistance and reported no injuries.
Investigation Findings
Examination of the failed nose strut revealed corrosion on its inner surface and partially on the fracture surface. The strut is a closed-section steel component designed to be sealed against moisture and air. The extensive internal corrosion indicated that a micro-crack had developed prior to the incident, breaching the seal and allowing oxygen ingress. Ductile fracture features suggested that the cracks formed during landings that imposed excessive loads on the nose gear.
Corrosion marks along a weld line pointed to that location as the likely origin of the initial crack. A subsequent crack was observed in the adjacent wall. The exact timing of initial crack formation could not be determined, as the corrosion area depended on oxygen ingress through the crack, which may have changed with each landing.
Additional evidence of high loads included severe deformation of the nose wheel fork, bending of the fork at the bolt connection, and excessive curvature of the nose wheel axle.
Context of Operations
Analysis of previous Tecnam P2008 nose gear failures indicated that most occur on grass runways and during training flights. At EPWS, 95% of landings are on grass and 90% of flights are training missions.
Cause and Contributing Factors
The probable cause of the incident was an enlarging crack in the nose landing gear strut, resulting from repeated load cycles following an initial crack whose time of origin could not be determined.
Contributing factors included frequent use of grass runways and a high proportion of training flights, which subjected the nose gear to repeated high loads.
No safety recommendations were issued.