What happened
On 13 July 2006, a Jabiru UL-450, registration G-CCAE, was involved in an accident at Croft Farm, Defford, Worcestershire, during a private flight. The aircraft had completed a normal landing and was in the process of an extended ground roll into an area of the runway that is not typically utilized. While the pilot was applying heavy braking, the nosewheel encountered a depression in the runway surface.
The investigation
Investigators examined the nose landing gear assembly, which utilizes a trailing fork design to support the wheel, connected to a fixed leg. The mechanism relies on a spring strut positioned between the fork and a bracket welded to the rear of the fixed leg. The investigation established that the impact with the ground depression, combined with the forces of heavy braking and tyre deflection, created enough stress to deform the spring suspension strut and its attachment bracket. This structural distortion caused the nosewheel to rise beyond its normal operating range, reducing the clearance between the propeller and the ground.
Findings
- The primary cause of the incident was the nosewheel entering a depression in the runway.
- The simultaneous application of heavy braking and tyre deflection provided the necessary load to distort the suspension components.
- The resulting deformation of the spring strut and bracket allowed the propeller to strike the ground, causing damage to the propeller and bending the nosewheel suspension.