What happened
On 13 July 2000, a Reims Cessna F172H, registration G-AXBH, was performing a private flight at Popham Airfield, Hampshire. The pilot was executing an approach to Runway 26, intending to perform a touch-and-go landing. To avoid structures at the eastern end of the airfield, the pilot utilized an offset approach pattern. During the descent, the pilot configured the aircraft with 20° of flaps and maintained an approach speed of approximately 75 mph.
Upon touchdown, the aircraft experienced a long, low bounce followed by several smaller hops. Realizing that touch-and-go operations were restricted on this specific runway, the pilot transitioned to a full-stop landing attempt. As the aircraft reached the end of the landing roll, the pilot identified an exit to the right and applied the brakes to vacate the runway. During this braking maneuver, the nosewheel collapsed while the aircraft was traveling at an estimated speed of 2/to 30 mph.
There were no injuries to the two occupants on board. The impact resulted in a collapsed nosewheel, bent propeller blades, a shock-loaded engine, and damage to the engine fairing.
The investigation
The AAIB examined the circumstances of the landing and the mechanical state of the aircraft. The investigation looked into the pilot's configuration of the aircraft, specifically the flap settings and approach speed. Investigators also assessed the condition of the runway surface and the mechanical integrity of the nosewheel assembly. While the pilot noted previous instances of nosewheel shimmy and suggested a potential failure of the support assembly, subsequent inspections by a repair agency found no evidence of pre-existing defects in the nosewheel assembly.