Incident Synopsis
On 4 April 2003, at 1400Z, the pilot of a Piper PA-28-180 (registration ZS-EOD) and his family departed for a private, local flight in the Ladysmith area. After a successful landing on Runway 11, the pilot began taxiing towards his hangar. At the same time, another aircraft (ZS-DOW) approached head-on at low altitude on the taxiway adjacent to Runway 11. To avoid a collision, the pilot of ZS-EOD immediately swerved his aircraft off the taxiway into the grass, where the nose wheel entered a ditch. Upon examination, only minor damage to the nose wheel spat was noticed. The pilot of ZS-DOW later apologized. The incident was reported on 9 April 2003.
Damage
The initial inspection revealed minor damage to the nose wheel spat. The following day, 5 April 2003, the pilot again took his family for a local pleasure flight in the same aircraft. During landing, he experienced difficulty maintaining directional control and subsequently discovered that the engine mounting bars had been damaged. The aircraft damage was assessed as minor to the nose wheel spat and the engine mounting bars.
Probable Cause
Damage to engine mountings, which probably resulted from the incident on 4 April 2003.