Partenavia P68-TC Nose Gear Failure During Taxi at Private Aerodrome Near Alldays (ZS-PBR)

Overview and Aircraft Details On the morning of 22 December 2006, a Partenavia P68-TC with registration ZS-PBR was involved in an accident while taxiing at a private aerodrome near Alldays. The aircraft was operated by a sole pilot holding a valid commercial pilot’s licence, with 3,219.0 total flying hours and 20.2 hours on type. The pilot’s medical certificate was valid until 28 February 2007 and required corrective lenses. ## Sequence of Events The pilot taxied toward the threshold of Runway 27, steering slightly to the right of the runway to initiate a left turn for take-off alignment. During this manoeuvre, the nose wheel entered a subsurface hole in soft sand on the runway. The impact caused the upper torque link to fail and the bulkhead supporting the nose landing gear to partially separate from the nose structure. The pilot was not injured. ## Runway and Site Conditions The runway was a compacted sand/gravel surface on a farm and was described as fairly new. Trees had been removed during construction, and some roots were not properly cleared. Decomposed roots had created a subsurface hole approximately 30 cm (12 inches) deep. The accident site was located at GPS position South 22°28.063’ East 029°10.460’, elevation approximately 2,900 feet AMSL. ## Meteorological and Maintenance Information Surface wind was easterly at 5 kt, temperature was 28°C, and visibility was good. The last Mandatory Periodic Inspection (MPI) was certified on 19 September 2006 at 1,609.25 airframe hours; the aircraft had flown a further 36.4 hours since that inspection. The Aircraft Maintenance Organisation (AMO No. 291) that certified the last maintenance held a valid AMO approval at the time.