Primary finding
Probable cause
Failure of the nose gear support structure for unknown reasons, which resulted in the nose landing gear collapsing during landing.
Investigator assessment
Analysis narrative
The pilot said that after a normal touch down he felt a wobble in the nose landing gear before it collapsed. The nose landing gear was pushed back into its wheel well and the airplane slid to a stop on the forward lower fuselage, resulting in substantial damage. Postaccident examination revealed the upper drag brace pivot support structure of the nose landing gear was damaged, which most likely allowed the drag brace to rotate and the nose gear to retract/collapse. It was not determined why the support structure failed.
Source record
Factual narrative
On May 31, 2023, at 1545 eastern daylight time, a Rockwell International Corporation 695 airplane, N515AM, was involved in an accident at the Philadelphia International Airport (PHL), Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The private pilot and the passenger were not injured. The airplane was operated as a 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. According to the pilot, he made normal landing but began to feel a “wobble” in the nose landing gear before it collapsed. The nose landing gear was pushed back into its wheel well and the airplane slid to a stop on the forward lower fuselage. Postaccident examination of the airplane revealed substantial damage to the skin, stringers, and frames that required a major repair. The pressure vessel was not breached. According to the airplane type certificate holder, who performed an engineering inspection and some repairs to the airplane in preparation for it to be ferried for additional repairs, the nose landing gear upper drag brace pivot support structure was found damaged. This damage may have resulted in the drag brace rotating and the landing gear retracting/collapsing upon landing. It was not determined as to why the support structure failed.