What Happened
On Monday, 19 December 2022, at 1200Z, a flight instructor and a student pilot on board a Piper PA23-250 Aztec (registration ZS-OGG) departed from Brakpan Aerodrome (FABB) in Gauteng province for a circuit training flight under Part 141. The flight was intended to land back at the same aerodrome. The student pilot conducted pre-take-off checks, and all instruments were within parameters. On final approach at an airspeed of 80 mph, the aircraft encountered wind shear and sank faster than expected. The aircraft landed hard on Runway 36, causing the nose landing gear to collapse. The aircraft skidded approximately 200 metres from the runway threshold, then veered off to the right onto grass. No injuries were reported. The aircraft sustained substantial damage to the propeller blades and the underside of the nose cone.
Weather Conditions
The weather at the time, as reported, was: wind direction 300° at 10 knots gusting 15 knots, visibility 10 km, temperature 25°C, broken cloud cover at 2000 feet, dew point 15°C. The headwind component was 8 knots and crosswind component 6 knots, which was within the aircraft's crosswind limitation of 15 knots.
Probable Cause
According to the investigation, the probable cause is that the aircraft was flared too early, leading to a high rate of descent and a hard landing. This resulted in the nose gear collapse and the aircraft veering off the runway to the right.