Primary finding
Probable cause
Fatigue failure of the nose landing gear upper drag strut bracket due to fatigue cracking.
Investigator assessment
Analysis narrative
When the pilot lowered the landing gear, the gear unsafe light illuminated. The pilot made a low pass and control tower personnel advised him the gear appeared to be down. When the airplane landed, it swerved off the runway and the nose gear collapsed. Post incident examination disclosed that the upper drag strut bracket was broken. Metallurgical examination revealed the fractured pieces 'exhibited features typical of fatigue cracking' at multiple points of origin and 'overstress separations.'
Source record
Factual narrative
-