McCauley Gene E RV-6A N343BG

Summary

On 18 September 2010 at about 23:30 local time, a McCauley Gene E RV-6A registered N343BG was involved in an accident near Kokomo, Indiana, United States. 2 people were on board and 2 had minor injuries. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

18 September 2010 at 23:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Kokomo, Indiana, United States

Nearest airport

Glenndale (8I3)

Coordinates

40.4333, -86.2056

Aircraft

McCauley Gene E RV-6A

Registration

N343BG

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Kokomo → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN10LA551

2 people had minor injuries.

Collapse of the nose landing gear during landing rollout on an unpaved runway due to a loss of ground clearance with the landing gear fork, causing the airplane to nose over.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

The airplane encountered a rise in the turf runway during the landing rollout. The nose landing gear left the ground momentarily and when it came back down it partially collapsed causing the airplane to nose over. The pilot noted that he had relaxed the flight controls and did not have the elevator held up at the time. He added that this was his third landing on the runway that day, and that he normally tried to avoid that area of the runway. A postaccident inspection revealed that the nose landing gear remained attached to the engine mount. However, the strut was curled aft with the nose wheel assembly rotated approximately 90 degrees. The nose wheel assembly and fairing remained attached to the strut. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the fuselage, left wing, and empennage when it nosed over. Examination of the runway noted a slight rise approximately one-third of the way down the runway. A ground scar consistent with being formed by the nose landing gear was observed down field from the rise. The nose landing gear had been modified in accordance with the airplane kit manufacturer's service bulletin. The bulletin provided for additional ground-to-nose landing gear fork clearance in an effort to reduce the possibility of nose gear collapse and nose over accidents. A review of prior accident reports involving collapse of the nose gear during landing rollout indicated that they all occurred on unpaved runways.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.