Incident Overview
The aircraft was on a positioning flight under 14 CFR Part 91 when it collided with a berm after losing directional control during landing. The flight crew had previously encountered what they believed to be rough spots on the runway during the takeoff roll.
Flight Events
After takeoff, the captain called for the co-pilot to raise the landing gear and engage the yaw damper. The crew then observed an unsafe gear indication for the nose gear. The captain stated they leveled off at 5,000 feet and reduced airspeed to recycle the landing gear. Cycling the gear did not resolve the issue, and the crew requested to return to the departure airport for landing. The landing gear was extended, and a gear down and locked indication was observed for all three landing gear.
On touchdown, the co-pilot extended the spoilers and armed the thrust reversers. After the nose wheel touched down, the aircraft made a sharp left turn and traveled off the side of the runway through the grass. The airplane contacted a four-foot high berm before coming to a stop on another runway. The captain attempted to taxi but discovered a lack of nose wheel steering.
Post-Accident Findings
A post-accident inspection revealed that the seal on the nose gear strut had failed, which prevented the nose gear from centering. This failure was identified as the reason for the loss of directional control.