What happened
During the takeoff roll, as the aircraft reached approximately 100 knots, the flight crew experienced a violent shimmy originating from the nose landing gear. In response to the instability, the pilot initiated an aborted takeoff. During the deceleration process, the nose landing gear separated from the aircraft. The aircraft subsequently veered off the runway, where the right main landing gear and the right wing collided with approach lights. This impact caused significant damage to the fuselage and the right wing. All passengers and the flight crew successfully evacuated the aircraft via the main cabin door with zero fatalities and no injuries.
Prior to the flight, ground personnel encountered difficulties with the removable pip pin on the nose landing gear. Specifically, the plunger button and locking balls would not release normally. After an unsuccessful attempt to troubleshoot the issue, the ground crew reinstalled the pip pin without properly securing it with the locking balls. Due to the mechanical state of the pin, the safety pin could not be inserted, so the ground crew left the safety pin attached only by its lanyard. While a ramp supervisor reportedly mentioned a nose gear pin issue to an observer pilot, the flight crew was not directly notified of the mechanical anomaly.
Findings
Investigations determined that the failure to secure the pip pin was the primary cause of the accident. Because the locking balls remained retracted, the pin was not properly held in place. During the takeoff roll, the pin likely shifted outward and fell from its position, allowing the upper torque link arm to move freely and causing the shimmy and subsequent gear separation.
Several contributing factors were identified:
- Ground personnel failed to follow standard procedures by reinstalling a malfunctioning pin rather than discarding it.
- There was a breakdown in communication, as the ground crew did not directly inform the pilot-in-command or the second-in-command of the nose gear issue.
- The preflight inspection failed to detect that the safety pin was missing from the nose landing gear.
- The observer pilot, who was reportedly notified of the issue by a supervisor, was not a type-rated crewmember and was distracted by a mobile phone at the time of the notification.