What happened
On 4 October 2008, a Piper PA-28R-200 Cherokee Arrow II, registration G-AXCA, was performing a private flight from Southend Airport to North Weald Airfield. During the approach, the aircraft encountered severe turbulence, which was significant enough to cause the pilot to strike his head against the aircraft roof.
Upon touchdown on the runway, the nose landing gear collapsed. This impact caused the propeller and the front cowling to strike the ground, resulting in the aircraft coming to a rapid halt. There were no injuries to the pilot, and the aircraft sustained damage to the nose leg, cowling, and propeller.
The investigation
Investigators examined the aircraft's nose gear assembly, which utilizes a hydraulic piston and an over-centre hinge to maintain the gear in the extended position. The engineering examination at a local repair agency found no mechanical failure within the gear's retraction or extension system. However, technicians did identify a small amount of hydraulic fluid bypassing the piston that actuates the gear.
While the repair agency replaced the piston as a precaution, they could not confirm whether the gear warning lights or the configuration horn were fully functional through a complete cycle. The investigation also considered the possibility that the down-limit microswitch might have been misaligned, which could have allowed the gear to appear locked when it was not, though no evidence of such misalignment was found.