Rutan LONG-EZ N58JB

Summary

On 5 September 2023 at about 23:20 local time, a Rutan LONG-EZ registered N58JB was involved in an accident near Bullhead City, Arizona, United States. One person was on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

5 September 2023 at 23:20

Classification

Accident

Location

Bullhead City, Arizona, United States

Nearest airport

Laughlin/Bullhead Intl (IFP)

Coordinates

35.1639, -114.5601

Aircraft

Rutan LONG-EZ

Registration

N58JB

Category

Airplane

Year built

2007

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Livermore → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

WPR23LA340

Nobody was injured.

The pilot’s improper flair resulting in a hard landing.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot stated that when he touched down, the main landing gear contacted the runway surface, followed by the nose gear. He instantly heard a loud “bang” as the nose gear collapsed and the nose continued to settle, sliding down the runway surface. Examination of the nose gear revealed that the nose landing gear actuator failed due to the buckling and fracture of the ball screw, which resulted from compressive loads on the actuator assembly. These compressive loads were likely from vertical and/or aft loads on the nose wheel. The actuator was likely in the fully extended position, but the length of the accident actuator was longer than its design length at full extension. Issues with the actuator installation that might have contributed to the overextension could not be determined. The examination further revealed that the nose landing gear likely sustained a relatively hard landing while in the fully extended position. However, the additional length in the overextended actuator assembly made the ball screw susceptible to buckling failure from lower compressive loads than designed. Additionally, since less length of the extension tube was constrained by the housing in the overextended assembly, the reduced constraint likely made the assembly susceptible to buckling at even lower loads. The assembly’s extension beyond its design length likely contributed to the failure, as the extension would have diminished the safety margin and increased the vulnerability to buckling failure under high landing loads.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.