What happened
On 30 March 2004, a Cessna F172M Skyhawk, registration G-BEMB, was preparing for a two-hour local VFR flight from Chichester (Goodwood) Airport. After completing a successful pre-flight inspection and refuelling both tanks, the pilot received clearance to taxi via a grass taxiway toward the holding point for Runway 06.
During the taxi, as the aircraft approached the intersection of Runway 06 and Runway 14, the nose of the aircraft suddenly dipped and failed to return to its level position. Simultaneously, the pilot observed that the rudder pedals had moved rearward and become locked in place. The pilot immediately halted the aircraft, shut down the engine, and deactivated the electrical master switch. Both the pilot and the passenger were able to exit the aircraft safely through the standard doors without injury.
The investigation
An examination of the aircraft following the incident revealed that a portion of the retaining clamp for the lower nose-landing-gear oleo outer cylinder was missing. Investigators located this missing piece of the clamp within the engine bay. While the clamp bolt remained in place, the associated stiffnut was absent.
Technical inspection by a maintenance professional confirmed that the threads on the clamp bolt were undamaged. The maintenance organisation responsible for the aircraft, which operates away from Goodwood, stated they had not performed any work on the nose landing gear attachments during their period of responsibility, which had spanned several years.