Incident Overview
Description
During the landing on runway 26 at Los Cuatro Diablos Airport (SCME), Melipilla, the nose gear fork bolt fractured. The pilot in command mentioned feeling a bump in the landing gear during takeoff, attributing it to the runway conditions (dirt). However, he noted that the right pedal felt “heavy” but continued with the parachute drop and returned for a cautious landing on runway 26. Upon landing, the pilot kept the nose wheel in the air for as long as possible, using reverse thrust to brake the aircraft without any issues. When making a 180-degree left turn on the aircraft for taxiing to the apron, the pilot reported feeling a bump in the nose gear. As a precaution, he shut down the aircraft’s engine and did not proceed with taxiing. As a result of the incident, both the pilot in command and the passenger were unharmed, and the aircraft sustained damage to its nose gear.
Primary Cause
Nose gear fork bolt fracture during landing.Nose gear fork bolt fracture during landing.Share on:
