20120530009469I

Incident · Minor damage

FAA incident report · Thatcher David J CX4 · Pensacola, FL · May 30, 2012

Date
May 30, 2012 · 06:58 local
Place
Pensacola, FL
Airport
Pensacola Regional
Phase of flight
Landing: Rollout
Operating rules
General operating rules (Part 91)
Damage
Minor damage
Aircraft
N3058W
Reported as
Thatcher David J CX4
Reported engine
Volkswagen CONVERSION
People aboard
1
Fatal injuries
0
Other injuries
0
Pilot’s certificates
Commercial pilot, flight instructor
Pilot’s flight hours
4,000 total35 in this make and model38 in the last 90 days

From the FAA’s Accident/Incident Data System (AIDS), through its Aviation Safety Information Portal, as reported. The NTSB investigates accidents separately, and its record of an accident is the fuller one. The aircraft is matched to the registry by N-number and event date, checked against the reported make and model; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.

What happened

The FAA’s narrative, in sentence case. The FAA writes it in capitals and removes private details.

On landing rollout the pilot experienced vibration from the fixed nose landing gear. The pilot immediately placed the airplane in a nose up attitude until loss of lift. Upon contact with the runway the nose gear collapsed, and folded aft. Examination of the nose gear strut tube revealed separation of the tube at the upper mounting flange.

As the FAA filed it

ON LANDING ROLLOUT THE PILOT EXPERIENCED VIBRATION FROM THE FIXED NOSE LANDING GEAR. THE PILOT IMMEDIATELY PLACED THE AIRPLANE IN A NOSE UP ATTITUDE UNTIL LOSS OF LIFT. UPON CONTACT WITH THE RUNWAY THE NOSE GEAR COLLAPSED, AND FOLDED AFT. EXAMINATION OF THE NOSE GEAR STRUT TUBE REVEALED SEPARATION OF THE TUBE AT THE UPPER MOUNTING FLANGE.