What happened
On May 7, 2008, at 13:26 UTC, a SportCruiser aircraft was performing a takeoff roll on runway 26 at Frýdlant nad Ostravicí Airport (LKFR). During the takeoff roll, the aircraft encountered uneven surfaces on the grass runway. This terrain irregularity caused the nose gear to bend, leading to the structural failure of the nose gear leg.
As the gear failed, the aircraft's nose descended, causing the wheel to strike the lower engine cowling. This impact reduced the aircraft's speed and resulted in the propeller blades contacting the ground, which broke two propeller blades. The aircraft eventually came to a halt on the runway with its nose resting on the ground. There were no injuries to the pilot or any occupants.
The investigation
The ÚZPLN investigation established that the aircraft, which did not have a permanent registration, was being operated using a temporary registration mark intended solely for manufacturer test flights. The investigation found that the aircraft had not yet been certified or registered by any European aviation authority at the time of the accident. The pilot was operating the aircraft before it had received a valid certificate of airworthiness.
Following the accident, the manufacturer conducted a structural analysis of the nose gear loading. This analysis, referenced in connection with a similar occurrence on aircraft OK-LUU26, concluded that the failure was an isolated incident caused by excessive loading on highly uneven terrain.
Findings
- The primary cause of the accident was the failure of the nose gear leg due to uneven runway surface conditions.
- The aircraft was being operated without a permanent registration, using a temporary mark intended only for experimental manufacturer testing.
- The operator attempted to conduct a takeoff before the aircraft had been officially registered and certified by the relevant European authorities.
- The manufacturer has since implemented structural reinforcements to the nose gear leg and increased the ground clearance of the fork to prevent similar occurrences.