LAX01LA037

During landing, the nose wheel collapsed, the airplane slid on the nose and main wheels veering off the runway right side, then nosed over inverted. The pilot completed a 38-minute-long flight by attempting to land on an 8,408-foot-long runway. An air traffic control tower witness described the airplane's approach as being "a little steep." The pilot misjudged the landing flare, and the airplane's nose wheel impacted the runway bending its rim. Thereafter, the airplane continued porpoising, the nose gear assembly ultimately failed in an aft direction, and the airplane slid to a stop coming to rest inverted.

On November 9, 2000, at 1033 hours mountain standard time, a Cessna 182P, N9187G, operated by Leading Edge Aviation, Inc., Tucson, Arizona, nosed over during landing rollout on runway 11R at the Tucson International Airport, Tucson. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed for the local area personal flight that was performed under 14 CFR Part 91. The airplane was substantially damaged. The private pilot and passenger received minor injuries. The flight originated from Nogales, Arizona, about 0955.

According to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Quality Assurance Staff (AWP-505), the air traffic controller on duty at the time of the accident indicated that the accident airplane's approach looked "a little steep." According to the controller, the airplane passed over the landing threshold and then porpoised on the runway. The second time the airplane touched down the nose wheel appeared to move backward. During the third touchdown, the nose wheel collapsed. Thereafter, the airplane slid forward on its nose approximately 100 feet and flipped over.

The Tucson Airport Police reported finding the nose wheel separated from the airplane. The wheel's rim was observed bent inward, "as though it had been slammed or hit against the pavement with extreme force."

The pilot indicated that his recollection of the accident sequence was somewhat incomplete. He opined, however, that the airplane's approach was normal and the initial touchdown was about average, not too hard or soft. After the initial touchdown, the airplane's nose wheel contacted the runway three more times, "each time more violent." On the third "landing," the nose gear collapsed and the propeller impacted the pavement.