ERA23LA091

The pilot reported that he made a normal touchdown, but he was unable to maintain directional control of the airplane during the landing roll. He reported that the airplane did not respond to his control inputs, and it veered off the left side of the runway, struck a ditch, nosed over, and came to rest inverted. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the wings and fuselage. A tower controller initially reported to local law enforcement that the airplane bounced on landing, but he later recanted his statement. Examination of the wreckage revealed the nose wheel was separated and the nose gear fork assembly was fractured. A metallurgical examination of the fractured pieces of the nose gear revealed fracture surfaces with features consistent with overstress fracture. Flight control continuity was confirmed, and the remainder of the examination revealed no pre-impact mechanical anomalies that would have precluded normal operation. Based on the physical evidence, the landing gear likely fractured during a hard landing, causing the loss of directional control.

On December 16, 2022, at 1515 eastern standard time, a Cessna R172K, N5405V, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident at Brooksville-Tampa Bay Regional Airport (BKV), Brooksville, Florida. The private pilot sustained a minor injury. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. Information from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) revealed the pilot was returning from Orlando International Airport (ORL), Orlando, Florida, where he had deplaned a friend. The pilot reported that he conducted a normal landing to runway 09 when the airplane veered left during the landing roll. The pilot attempted to maintain directional control with rudder and brake applications without success. The airplane did not respond to the pilot’s remedial actions, continued off the left side of the runway, struck a ditch, nosed over, and came to rest inverted with substantial damage to the wings and fuselage. When interviewed by local law enforcement, a BKV tower controller stated he provided a landing clearance to the pilot and watched the airplane “bounce on the landing strip, veer[ed] left, and wound-up driving into the retention ditch” where it nosed over. Later, when interviewed by an FAA aviation safety inspector, the controller recanted his statement. Weather reported at BKV at the time of the accident included wind from 020° at 4 knots, scattered clouds at 11,000 ft above ground level, and 10 statute miles visibility. Examination of the wreckage by FAA inspectors revealed the nose wheel was separated and the nose gear fork assembly was fractured. Six pieces of the fractured assembly were harvested from the airplane and from along the wreckage path and forwarded to the National Transportation Safety Board Materials Laboratory in Washington, DC for examination. The examination revealed fracture surfaces with features consistent with overstress fracture. Flight control continuity was confirmed, and the remainder of the examination revealed no pre-impact mechanical anomalies that would have precluded normal operation.