History of the Flight
On 24 February 2011, at 1256 UTC, a Cessna 182S Skylane (registration G-BXZM) returned from a short local flight and approached grass Runway 25 at White Waltham Airfield, Berkshire. The pilot reported that after the main wheels touched down approximately one third of the way along the runway, but before the nosewheel contacted the surface, the aircraft encountered a dip in the runway. A gust of wind coincident with the aircraft exiting the dip caused the aircraft to become airborne again. The pilot applied a small amount of power but could not reduce the rate of descent, and the aircraft touched down hard and bounced again. Further attempts to control the bounce were unsuccessful. During one subsequent touchdown, the pilot heard a “thump” but was not aware that the nosewheel had detached from the nose landing gear. The aircraft bounced once more before finally touching down with very little forward speed. The propeller struck the runway, and the nose landing gear leg progressively dug into the ground, causing the aircraft to pitch over onto its back. The pilot and three passengers, all wearing lap and diagonal harnesses, sustained bruising but were otherwise uninjured and exited the aircraft unassisted.
Ground Markings
Photographs of the accident site provided to the AAIB show ground markings consistent with a heavy nosewheel touchdown. The nosewheel was found approximately 10 m to the right of the runway centreline. Subsequent propeller strikes and a furrow caused by the nose landing gear leg contacting the ground are also evident.
Examination of the Nosewheel
The nosewheel yoke had fractured, causing the nosewheel to separate from the landing gear. The fracture surfaces were examined using a binocular microscope and a scanning electron microscope. Two distinct regions of fracture were evident, indicating a two-stage failure process resulting from overload of the component. It was concluded that a crack had initially propagated upwards from the base of the yoke due to tensile overload caused by excessive drag loading on the nosewheel. There was also evidence of compressive loading consistent with a hard landing. It is likely that the nosewheel buckled under the compressive loading after one of the bounces, causing compressive failure on one side of the yoke. There was no evidence of fatigue propagation, nor were there any indications of pre-existing damage within the structure of the component.
Pilot's Experience
The pilot held a Private Pilot’s Licence with 84 hours total flying experience, of which 22 hours were as Pilot in Command. He had undertaken his PPL training and subsequent flying on other aircraft types and had recently been checked out by an instructor to fly the Cessna 182. He had a total of four hours experience on the type, and the accident flight was his first flight as PIC on the type.
Discussion
The pilot considers that the accident was the result of electing to land rather than initiating a go-around immediately upon becoming airborne after the first touchdown.