Piper PA-30 Touch-and-Go Accident at Lanseria Aerodrome (ZS-OCE)

Accident Overview and Flight Details On 11 January 2002, a Piper PA-30 with registration ZS-OCE was conducting a private flight from Rand Airport (FAGM) to Lanseria (FALA). The aircraft carried two people: the pilot-in-command and the pilot/owner of the aircraft. The pilot held a valid ATPL and had 9,933.0 total flying hours, including 24.3 hours on type. The last mandatory periodic inspection was certified on 12 October 2001 at 4,051.6 airframe hours. ## Approach and Loss of Control During the approach to Lanseria, the crew requested and was cleared for a touch-and-go landing with Runway 06R in use. On landing, the pilot observed a slight drop in the left wing, which he interpreted as oleo sagging. When the nose wheel touched the runway, the aircraft veered sharply left by approximately 40 degrees. Full right rudder did not correct the deviation. Concerned that the nose wheel might dig in as the terrain rose to the left, the pilot applied power to clear the runway lights. The airspeed had decayed substantially, leaving the pilot with no option but to fly the aircraft into the ground in a controlled fashion at a very slow speed. ## Investigation Findings The left main oleo strut was found to have failed and was submitted for metallurgical analysis, which revealed failure due to overload. This could have been caused by either a hard landing or the aircraft not being properly lined up with the runway on touchdown. Weather at the time was fine, with wind 030°/5 knots, visibility greater than 10 km, and a temperature of +25°C. No injuries or fatalities were reported.