What happened
On 4 August 2023, a SOCATA TBM 700A, registration N188SJ, was conducting a flight test of its transponder at Kota Bharu Airport. The flight began after the aircraft had arrived from Subang Airport, where air traffic controllers had noted intermittent radar visibility. During the subsequent test flight, the aircraft remained undetected by radar, prompting the pilot-in-command to abort the return to Subang and instead land back at Kota Bharu.
Upon touchdown, the aircraft experienced a significant bouncing motion involving the nose gear. This instability caused the propeller to strike the runway surface. The aircraft eventually came to a halt approximately 70 meters from intersection C. While there were no injuries to the crew, the impact resulted in all four propeller blade tips being chipped or bent and caused the nose landing gear tire to burst, damaging the rim.
The investigation
AAIB Malaysia investigators examined the aircraft and the site, though they noted that critical evidence, such as propeller strike marks on the runway, had been lost because the airport duty officer cleared the runway for operations before the investigators arrived. The investigation included a detailed analysis of the nose gear tire by Michelin, which revealed severe ruptures and fraying in the casing plies and inner liner, though the exact cause of the burst could not be definitively determined due to the extent of the damage.
Findings
- The aircraft's nose landing gear tire suffered a catastrophic burst during the landing sequence.
- The primary cause of the propeller damage was the bouncing of the aircraft's nose immediately following contact with the runway.
- The aircraft was in an airworthy condition prior to the incident, with no mechanical abnormalities reported by the crew during flight.
- A delay in reporting the incident via a Mandatory Occurrence Report prevented post-accident medical and drug testing of the crew.