20011020034329A

(-23) On October 20, 2001, at 1530 hours, a Cessna 182, N7399S, piloted by george rhodes received substantial damage on landing at York Airport, York, PA. This flight was conducted under FAR 91, and visual meteorological conditions prevailed. The certificated pilot and passenger were not injured. The flight originated at York Airport, York, PA. Pilot rhodes stated that when the nose wheel touched the runway during landing roll, the nosewheel shattered causing the airplane to porpoise and buckled the front of the fuselage. (.19) on October 20, 2001, at 1530 eastern daylight time, a Cessna 182, N7399S, was substantially damaged during a hard landing on runway 35 at York Airport (thv), York, Pennsylvania. The certificated private pilot and the student pilot-rated passenger were not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the personal flight that originated at latrobe, Pennsylvania (lbe), at 1430. An instrument flight rules flight plan was filed for the flight conducted under 14 CFR part 91. In a written statement, the pilot said: "main wheels touched down and when the nosewheel met runway - a piece of the hub broke - shattered tire - prop struck - plane porpoised and some buckling of the fuselage occurred on the front port side." During a telephone interview, the pilot was asked how the airplane landed, and in what order the landing gear touched down on the runway. According to the pilot: "we touched down on the mains first. The main wheels came down, the nose wheel came down, the airplane porpoised, and the prop struck the runway. It looked like the tire was shredded and like a piece of the hub had broken through." The pilot stated that he searched the runway immediately after the accident and found no evidence of debris or foreign objects on or adjacent to the landing surface. During a telephone interview, the passenger said he had about 3,000 hours of flight experience, but had never bothered to get his pilot's certificate. He had been a student pilot for approximately 30 years and owned his own airplanes, but hired flight instructors to fly with him wherever he went. According to the passenger: "it was a perfect day. We had been flying for 4 to 5 hours. We were coming in on approach, and he flared beautifully. It was a 3-point landing. He flared at 60 miles per hour, and all three gear touched down at the same time. We porpoised 3 times, the tire blew out, and we broke the hub. Then we taxied off the active." The passenger then described his observations during the preflight inspection, and some of the advice that he had offered the pilot. He spoke about the flight, and was asked to describe the landing again. He said: "as he came down to flare, he came down on the 2 main wheels. Then, the front wheel touched, and the event occurred to cause the porpoise." During a telephone interview, an airframe and powerplant mechanic who recovered the airplane from the runway described the damage to the airplane. He stated: "the front hub was shattered, the firewall was buckled, and there was a wrinkle in the belly. The propeller tips were curled back and the engine mounts were bent. The standby compass that was attached to the top of the windshield was knocked loose from its mount and hung by a wire." The nose tire, wheel, and wheel fragments were recovered and forwarded to the safety board's materials laboratory in Washington, d.c. the wheel and wheel fragments were examined in the laboratory on November 30, 2001. Examination of the fracture surfaces on the wheel wheel and wheel fragments revealed that all fractures were due to overstress. The examination revealed no evidence of fatigue, corrosion, or pre-existing damage. The pilot reported 325 hours of flight experience, 33 hours of which were in make and model. The weather reported at the York Airport, at 1453, included clear skies with winds from 220 degrees at 6 knots.