A rutan long ez nose gear collapsed on landing due to crack in the cast aluminum strut.

Attributes
ACN	662811
Time
Date	200506
Local Time Of Day	1201 To 1800
Place
Locale Reference	airport : ocf.airport
State Reference	FL
Altitude	agl single value : 0
Environment
Flight Conditions	VMC
Light	Daylight
Aircraft 1
Operator	general aviation : personal
Make Model Name	Experimental
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 91
Flight Phase	landing : roll
Flight Plan	None
Person 1
Affiliation	other
Function	flight crew : single pilot
Qualification	pilot : multi engine pilot : instrument pilot : commercial pilot : cfi pilot : atp pilot : flight engineer
Experience	flight time last 90 days : 300 flight time total : 30000 flight time type : 200
ASRS Report	662811
Events
Anomaly	aircraft equipment problem : critical ground encounters other
Independent Detector	other flight crewa
Resolutory Action	none taken : unable
Consequence	other other
Supplementary
Problem Areas	Aircraft
Primary Problem	Aircraft

Narrative:

The nose gear fork collapsed on landing after a routine 45 min VFR flight in the local area. I was making a full stop landing; which was normal and uneventful for the first 1000 ft of landing rollout after touchdown. After the first 1000 ft of rollout; the aluminum nose gear fork broke on the right side and allowed the nose gear to twist and collapse sideways. The nose gear wheel and the now twisted fork remained attached for the next 1000 ft of skidding to the eventual full stop on the centerline of the runway. A postflt examination of the non certificated nose gear fork under 20 magnification revealed a fresh crack on one side with no apparent corrosion or oxidation in the crack of this cast aluminum part. The nose gear fork was returned to xyz manufacturing for further evaluation. This was the second failure of this part (ng-16C) on the type of concord aircraft within the last two weeks after many yrs of no reported failures.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: A RUTAN LONG EZ NOSE GEAR COLLAPSED ON LNDG DUE TO CRACK IN THE CAST ALUMINUM STRUT.

Narrative: THE NOSE GEAR FORK COLLAPSED ON LNDG AFTER A ROUTINE 45 MIN VFR FLT IN THE LCL AREA. I WAS MAKING A FULL STOP LNDG; WHICH WAS NORMAL AND UNEVENTFUL FOR THE FIRST 1000 FT OF LNDG ROLLOUT AFTER TOUCHDOWN. AFTER THE FIRST 1000 FT OF ROLLOUT; THE ALUMINUM NOSE GEAR FORK BROKE ON THE R SIDE AND ALLOWED THE NOSE GEAR TO TWIST AND COLLAPSE SIDEWAYS. THE NOSE GEAR WHEEL AND THE NOW TWISTED FORK REMAINED ATTACHED FOR THE NEXT 1000 FT OF SKIDDING TO THE EVENTUAL FULL STOP ON THE CTRLINE OF THE RWY. A POSTFLT EXAM OF THE NON CERTIFICATED NOSE GEAR FORK UNDER 20 MAGNIFICATION REVEALED A FRESH CRACK ON ONE SIDE WITH NO APPARENT CORROSION OR OXIDATION IN THE CRACK OF THIS CAST ALUMINUM PART. THE NOSE GEAR FORK WAS RETURNED TO XYZ MANUFACTURING FOR FURTHER EVALUATION. THIS WAS THE SECOND FAILURE OF THIS PART (NG-16C) ON THE TYPE OF CONCORD ACFT WITHIN THE LAST TWO WKS AFTER MANY YRS OF NO RPTED FAILURES.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of January 2009 and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.