What happened
On 22 September 2001, a PA 28-140 aircraft, registration ZS-MLF, was performing circuit practice at Wonderboom Airport (FAWB) following a completed navigation flight. The pilot, a student, had recently returned to the aerodrome after visiting Thabazimbi and Nylstroom.
As the aircraft completed its second landing on Runway 06, the nose wheel made contact with the runway surface in an off-center position. This impact caused the aircraft to veer toward the left side of the runway. During the excursion, the nose gear separated from the airframe, and the propeller struck the ground. There were no injuries reported following the incident.
The investigation
Investigators examined the runway surface and identified three distinct landing gear marks, noting that the nose wheel track was positioned to the left of the main gear marks. A mechanical inspection of the aircraft's landing gear assembly was conducted. The steering rods for the nose gear showed no signs of failure, and both the left and right main gear wheels were found to be rotating freely.
Furthermore, the investigation confirmed that the aircraft was not equipped with toe-brakes. Because the intensity of the main gear marks was uniform on both sides, investigators ruled out differential braking as a contributing factor to the deviation from the runway centerline.
Findings
- The investigation found no evidence of pre-existing mechanical defects or failures in the landing gear assembly.
- The primary cause of the excursion was that the nose wheel was landed off-center to the left, which likely prevented the aircraft from maintaining a straight path during the landing roll.