What happened
On 26 February 2022, a Cheetah aircraft, registration ZU-FAS, was preparing for a daylight sightseeing flight from New Tempe Aerodrome in the Free State Province. The flight was intended to be a local circuit, departing from and returning to the same aerodrome under visual meteorological conditions.
Following standard pre-flight procedures and engine run-up checks, the pilot taxied to the holding point for Runway 01. As the pilot applied power to begin the takeoff roll, the nose gear failed at the fork. This structural failure caused the aircraft's nose to pitch downward abruptly, leading to the propeller blades striking the ground. While the aircraft sustained substantial damage, the pilot and passenger escaped without injury.
The investigation
SACAA AIID examined the maintenance history and the physical condition of the landing gear. Records showed that an inspection of the nose gear strut and fork had been performed on 19 April 2021, during an application for an Authority to Fly. At that time, the airframe had 782.2 hours. The aircraft had flown an additional 30 hours following that inspection.
Investigators noted that the nose wheel fairing (spat) creates a physical barrier that makes it difficult to visually monitor the metal condition of the gear during pre-flight inspections. Furthermore, the investigation found that the pilot did not maintain a precise record of landings. While the pilot estimated a rate of approximately one landing per flight hour, the lack of documented landing counts made it impossible to verify compliance with specific maintenance intervals.
Findings
- The primary cause of the accident was the failure of the nose gear fork due to an undetected crack.
- A lack of accurate landing records prevented the determination of whether the required inspection intervals had been met.
- The manufacturer's Service Bulletin requires a visual inspection every 50 normal landings or following any hard landing; however, the current maintenance oversight was insufficient.
- The design of the nose wheel fairing obstructed effective pre-flight inspections of the assembly.