What happened
On 13 March 2010, a Morane Saulnier MS.894A Rallye Minerva, registration G-BKBF, was conducting a private flight when it experienced an incident during landing at Henstridge Airfield, Somerset. As the aircraft was performing its landing roll-out, the nosewheel began to shimmy. During this period of instability, the nosewheel detached from the nose gear assembly. The aircraft subsequently came to a stop resting on its nose gear leg. There were no injuries to the pilot or the single passenger on board, though the aircraft sustained damage to the propeller and the nose gear.
The investigation
Following the incident, the AAIB examined the wreckage and the mechanical components of the aircraft. The investigation focused on the mechanics of the nosewheel's detachment and the preceding shimmy. Physical examination of the components revealed that the nosewheel axle had failed near the point where it connects to the nose leg. The investigation did not establish the specific underlying reasons why the shimmy occurred or what triggered the subsequent failure of the axle.