A DHC-8-402Q aircraft sustained substantial damage un a nosegear-up landing at Mnchen, Germany. The aircraft, operating Lufthansa Regional flight LH4074 to Florence, Italy, returned to Mnchen when the nose landing gear could not be deployed in preparation for landing. Several attempts to recycle the landing gear proved fruitless. New attempts were made near Mnchen but these were also unsuccessful. Even the emergency procedure failed. Finally a nose gear-up landing was carried out on runway 08R. The aircraft came to rest about 465 m after the nose contacted the runway. Conclusions The immediate causes of the accident were: – Due to a vibration cracks developed and due to fretting a coil spring in the actuating mechanism for the nose landing gear doors broke. – The fragments of the coil spring fell into the enclosed wheel well in the vicinity of the strut and jammed itself in the landing gear struts upon retraction of the nose gear. – The jammed coil spring blocked the locking mechanisms of the nose landing gear in the retracted and locked position. – The force required for releasing the blocked locking mechanisms could be applied to either the normal or with the emergency system.