What happened
On 5 October 1999, a Cozy (Homebuilt), registration G-BXDO, was performing a private flight at Ronaldsway Airport, Isle of Man. The weather conditions at the time of the incident were favorable, with good visibility and a light wind from 030° at 6 knots.
As the aircraft approached Runway 08, the pilot crossed the runway threshold at approximately 80 kt. The pilot then reduced the throttle to 600 engine RPM and maintained a landing flare until the airspeed dropped to roughly 65 kt. Upon the main wheels making contact with the runway, the nose of the aircraft began to descend. At this point, the pilot realized that the nose landing gear had not been lowered prior to the landing.
Despite the pilot applying full up elevator to prevent the nose from dropping, the aircraft's nose continued to descend toward the runway surface as the airspeed decreased. In an attempt to minimize the ground roll following the impact, the pilot applied maximum braking.
The investigation
The investigation examined the sequence of the landing and the mechanical state of the aircraft. The inspection of the Cozy (Homebuilt) revealed abrasion damage to the fuselage and a broken bracket within the nose landing gear retraction system. The investigation established that the pilot had inadvertently omitted the extension of the nose gear during the landing sequence.