What happened
On 8 March 2014, a Piper Warrior III, registration PK-AEE, was conducting flight training exercises near Cilacap, Indonesia. The aircraft, operated by the Indonesian Civil Aviation Institute, was carrying two student pilots. After completing maneuvers in the Nangun area, the aircraft returned to Tunggul Wulung Airport for landing.
During the final approach, the pilot maintained an airspeed of approximately 70 knots, slightly above the recommended 63 knots for the configured flaps. While the main wheels successfully touched the runway, the nose landing gear failed unexpectedly before it could make contact with the ground. This caused the propeller to strike the runway surface, resulting in bent propeller tips and a collapsed nose strut. The aircraft came to a stop 181 meters from the initial touchdown point. There were no injuries to the occupants.
The investigation
Investigators from the KNKT examined the wreckage and the runway surface, noting hydraulic fluid residue and scratch marks left by the nose strut and propeller. Metallurgical analysis was conducted at the Institute Technology of Bandung to examine the broken nose gear sliding member.
Technical examinations revealed that the failure was not due to pilot error or maintenance oversight. Maintenance records showed a 100-hour inspection had been completed only six hours prior to the incident with no issues found. The investigation focused on the structural integrity of the landing gear component itself.
Findings
- The primary cause of the gear collapse was a fatigue crack originating from within the internal structure of the nose gear sliding member.
- The crack initiated at two internal points and propagated outward, eventually leading to a static failure.
- Because the crack began internally, it was invisible to the naked eye and could not have been identified during standard visual inspections.
- The investigation concluded that the fatigue likely stemmed from a rare manufacturing pipe failure rather than operational or maintenance deficiencies.