- Date
- September 10, 2002, 12:30 local (17:30 UTC)
- Place
- Brodhead, WI
- Injuries
- 1 minor, 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N54LFFrank RV-8A
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report September 30, 2003
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- FAA-Milwaukee, Wisconsin-FSDO
- FAA report
- 20020910038119A
- Case key
- 55736
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Probable cause
The failure of the nose landing gear strut for undetermined reasons.
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Analysis
During landing on a turf runway, the nose landing gear strut bent rearward and the airplane nosed over. The pilot stated that the landing touchdown was normal and on the mains with the nose held off of the ground until the airplane slowed down. He said that the nose landing gear touched a small bump and then collapsed. The airplane subsequently nosed over. Examination of the airplane revealed that the nose landing gear strut had bent smoothly through about 90 degrees.
Factual narrative
On September 10, 2002, at 1230 central daylight time, an amateur-built Frank RV-8A, N54LF, sustained substantial damage during landing at the Brodhead Airport, Brodhead, Wisconsin. During the landing, the nose landing gear strut bent rearward and the airplane nosed over. The 14 CFR Part 91 personal flight was conducted in visual meteorological conditions without a flight plan. The private pilot was not injured and his passenger received minor injuries. The flight originated from the Rock County Airport, Janesville, Wisconsin at 1210.
The pilot stated in a written report that the landing touchdown was normal and on the mains with the nose held off of the ground until the airplane slowed down. He said that the nose landing gear touched a small bump and then collapsed. The airplane subsequently nosed over.
Examination of the airplane revealed that the nose landing gear strut had bent smoothly through about 90 degrees. The nose landing gear of the airplane is installed in a tube mount and angles forward and downward from the firewall area. The forward end of the strut is machined to accept a castoring nose wheel assembly. No defects were found in the caster assembly, or in the upper mount near the firewall.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N54LF
- Reported as
- Frank RV-8A
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- 81435
- Airframe hours
- 89
- Engine
- Lycoming O-360-A1A, 180 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Lorin L. Frank
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · May 11, 2002 · 89 hours before
- Departed
- JVL · Janesville, WI
- Destination
- C37 · Brodhead, WI
- Airport
- C37 · Brodhead, runway 27, 2,430 × 155 ft, grass/turf
Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 53
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Last flight review
- December 23, 2001
- Seat
- Front
- Flight hours
- 1,237 total · 30 in this make and model · 1,163 as pilot in command · 47 in the last 90 days · 10 in the last 30 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 310° at 12 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 79 °F, dew point 72 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.01 inHg
- Observed at
- EFT, 10 nm away
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.