What happened
On June 9, 2018, a Piper PA-38-112, registration LV-OMN, was conducting a flight training mission at the Casilda Aerodrome in Santa Fe, Argentina. After completing a landing, the aircraft was taxiing at a very low speed and preparing to execute a 180-degree turn to return to the active runway heading. During this maneuver, the nose wheel detached from the aircraft. As the nose gear collapsed, one of the propeller blades made contact with the ground. The instructor and student pilot were able to exit the aircraft safely, and there were no injuries reported.
The investigation
The investigation focused on the mechanical integrity of the nose landing gear assembly. Investigators recovered most of the components used to mount the wheel, including the through-bolt, spacers, and washers. However, the self-locking adjustment nut was missing and could not be located. Examination of the nose gear fork revealed marks indicating that the wheel had rubbed against the right side of the fork immediately before the detachment. The through-bolt showed no signs of deformation, overheating, or thread damage, and the remaining hardware appeared to be in good technical condition.
Findings
- The nose wheel detached while the aircraft was taxiing.
- The self-locking nut used to secure the assembly was not recovered from the scene.
- The primary cause of the detachment was the loss of the self-locking capability of the adjustment nut, likely due to wear and repeated reuse of the component.