GUSTAVUS, AK, USA
N84468
CESSNA 172
THE AIR TAXI PILOT WAS LANDING THE TRICYCLE GEAR AIRPLANE ON A HARD SURFACED RUNWAY. HE SAID THE TOUCHDOWN WAS ON THE MAIN LANDING GEAR, AND WAS SMOOTH AND UNEVENTFUL UNTIL HE LOWERED THE NOSEWHEEL TO THE RUNWAY. ALSO, HE SAID THAT AS SOON AS THE NOSEWHEEL TOUCHED DOWN, THE AIRPLANE VEERED TO THE LEFT, AND THAT HE WAS UNABLE TO TURN THE AIRPLANE TO THE RIGHT. THE AIRPLANE CONTINUED TO THE LEFT, AND THE NOSEWHEEL STRUT SUBSEQUENTLY COLLAPSED, DAMAGING THE FIREWALL. THE PILOT SAID THE AIRPLANE HAD AN OVERSIZED NOSEWHEEL TIRE. AN FAA INSPECTOR, WHO WAS FAMILIAR WITH THE AIRPLANE, SAID THE NOSEWHEEL STRUT MAY HAVE BEEN OVERINFLATED, WHICH MAY HAVE CONTRIBUTED TO STEERING DIFFICULTIES. THE OPERATOR, WHO SUBMITTED THE NTSB ACCIDENT REPORT FORM, INDICATED THAT THERE WERE NO PREACCIDENT MECHANICAL PROBLEMS WITH THE AIRPLANE.
On June 24, 1995, about 1045 Alaska daylight time, a wheel equipped Cessna 172, N84468, sustained substantial damage while landing on runway 28 at the Gustavus Airport, Gustavus, Alaska. The commercial certificated pilot and two passengers aboard were not injured. The 14 CFR Part 135 on-demand air taxi flight operated in visual meteorological conditions. The flight departed Juneau, Alaska, about 1015; the destination was Gustavus. During a telephone conversation with the NTSB investigator-in- charge on June 24, 1995, the pilot reported the wind was light and directly down runway 28. He said the landing was normal until he lowered the nose wheel. Soon after he lowered the nose wheel, he said the airplane veered left. Full right rudder and the application of the right brake did not stop the turn to the left. The pilot said the nose wheel landing gear collapsed, and that the firewall was damaged. The pilot indicated he did not know why the airplane went to the left and was uncontrollable. He said that the nosewheel was of a larger than standard variety, but could not immediately recall its size. A Juneau Flight Standards District Office (FSDO)Inspector spoke with the pilot, one of passengers, and examined the airplane. The FSDO inspector said the passenger he spoke with indicated the airplane touched down smoothly and on the main landing gear, and that the landing appeared normal until the nosewheel came down and the airplane veered to the left. The inspector also said he had looked at the accident airplane prior to the accident, and it looked to him that the nosewheel strut may have been over inflated and over extended, making the airplane more difficult to steer with the nosewheel. The NTSB Pilot/Operator Accident Report form 6120.1/2 was completed by the Operator, and the portion of the report: Mechanical Malfunction/Failure, was checked "NO".
THE PILOT'S FAILURE TO MAINTAIN DIRECTIONAL CONTROL. A FACTOR RELATING TO THE ACCIDENT WAS: THE DIMINISHED NOSEWHEEL STEERING CAPABILITY DUE TO AN OVERINFLATED NOSEWHEEL STRUT.
Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database
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