What happened
On 21 May 1998, a Commander 114B, registration G-FATB, was being operated for private training purposes at Exeter Airport, Devon. The pilot, who was working towards a Private Pilot's Licence for aeroplanes, had been performing solo local area handling and a series of circuits involving various flap settings. Following a landing on Runway 08 using full flaps, the pilot began the process of retracting the flaps. During this phase, a vibration developed in the nosewheel. As the pilot attempted to manage the aircraft, the power was reduced, but the aircraft began to swing toward the left. Despite attempts to use right rudder to maintain directional control, the swing could not be corrected. At a speed of approximately 40 kt, the pilot elected to abort the takeoff, resulting in the aircraft exiting the paved runway onto the grass area to the left. The impact caused the nose landing gear to collapse, and the aircraft came to a stop. There were no injuries to the pilot, though the aircraft sustained damage to the engine, propeller, and nose landing gear.
The investigation
Investigators examined the aircraft and the circumstances surrounding the landing gear failure. An engineering inspection of the nosewheel assembly was conducted to determine the origin of the vibration and subsequent collapse. The inspection focused on the structural integrity of the fork attachment and the condition of the mounting hardware.