Beechcraft Baron 58 Nose Gear Collapse at East London Airport (ZS-JYD)

Incident Overview and Flight Details On 3 April 2018, a Beechcraft Baron 58, registration ZS-JYD, was operating a private flight from Port Alfred airfield (FAPA) to East London airport (FAEL) in the Eastern Cape. The pilot, who was the sole occupant, reported that the flight was uneventful and conducted under visual flight rules. The aircraft touched down on Runway 29 at East London airport. ## Sequence of Events and Damage During the landing roll, the nose gear assembly collapsed. The failure caused both propeller blades to strike the asphalt runway surface and bend. The aircraft then skidded with its nose section on the runway until it came to rest on the left-hand side of Runway 29. The pilot was not injured. ## Investigation Findings During recovery operations, investigators discovered that the nose gear brace assembly had fractured, resulting in the nose gear folding back into the wheel well. The aircraft sustained damage to the propellers, the nose wheel assembly, and the nose cone. The incident occurred in daylight at GPS coordinates approximately 33°02′08.07″ South, 027°49′36.81″ East, at an elevation of 407 feet. ## Aircraft and Pilot Status At the time of the incident, the pilot held a private pilot licence expiring on 15 July 2018 and a valid medical certificate. The pilot had a total of 2,873 flying hours, including 1,110 hours on type. The aircraft's mandatory periodic inspection was last carried out on 2 November 2017. The aircraft had a valid Certificate of Registry but was operating with an invalid Certificate of Airworthiness that had expired on 6 March 2018. ## Probable Cause The investigation determined that the incident was caused by the failure of the nose gear retraction brace assembly, most probably as a result of a hard landing.