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An aerostar 600 pilot veered off the runway after touchdown because the nose gear failed to extend sufficiently to lock the nosewheel.
| Attributes | |
| ACN | 734159 |
| Time | |
| Date | 200704 |
| Local Time Of Day | 1201 To 1800 |
| Place | |
| Locale Reference | airport : rdu.airport |
| State Reference | NC |
| Altitude | agl single value : 0 |
| Environment | |
| Flight Conditions | VMC VMC |
| Weather Elements | Turbulence |
| Light | Daylight |
| Aircraft 1 | |
| Operator | general aviation : personal |
| Make Model Name | PA-60 600 Aerostar |
| Operating Under FAR Part | Part 91 |
| Flight Phase | landing : roll |
| Flight Plan | IFR |
| Person 1 | |
| Affiliation | other |
| Function | flight crew : single pilot |
| Qualification | pilot : multi engine pilot : instrument pilot : private |
| Experience | flight time last 90 days : 21 flight time total : 1270 flight time type : 587 |
| ASRS Report | 734159 |
| Events | |
| Anomaly | aircraft equipment problem : critical other anomaly |
| Independent Detector | other flight crewa |
| Resolutory Action | flight crew : regained aircraft control |
| Consequence | other |
| Supplementary | |
| Problem Areas | Maintenance Human Performance Aircraft |
| Primary Problem | Aircraft |
Narrative:
Airplane veered off runway to left and was returned to runway without damage to either airplane or airport. Cause was failure of the nose gear strut to extend sufficiently to permit locking cam in nose gear assembly to lock nosewheel in straight ahead position. Airplane was aligned with the centerline of runway 32 at touchdown. Main wheels contacted runway without incident. When nosewheel touched runway; the airplane made sharp left turn off runway until right rudder and brakes could return airplane to runway. Inspection the next morning revealed that nose gear strut had lost nitrogen charge due to a leak preventing the locking cam from engaging and allowing nosewheel to turn from side to side. Strut was filled with nitrogen and gear recycled several times during which strut extended and nosewheel locked in straight ahead position without any side to side movement. Airplane departed airport 4 1/2 hours prior to incident at which time nose strut appeared to have normal 3-4 inch extension. Henceforth; weight will be applied to nose during preflight to make sure strut working correctly. Maintenance to find source of leak has been scheduled.
Original NASA ASRS Text
Title: AN AEROSTAR 600 PILOT VEERED OFF THE RUNWAY AFTER TOUCHDOWN BECAUSE THE NOSE GEAR FAILED TO EXTEND SUFFICIENTLY TO LOCK THE NOSEWHEEL.
Narrative: AIRPLANE VEERED OFF RWY TO L AND WAS RETURNED TO RWY WITHOUT DAMAGE TO EITHER AIRPLANE OR ARPT. CAUSE WAS FAILURE OF THE NOSE GEAR STRUT TO EXTEND SUFFICIENTLY TO PERMIT LOCKING CAM IN NOSE GEAR ASSEMBLY TO LOCK NOSEWHEEL IN STRAIGHT AHEAD POS. AIRPLANE WAS ALIGNED WITH THE CTRLINE OF RWY 32 AT TOUCHDOWN. MAIN WHEELS CONTACTED RWY WITHOUT INCIDENT. WHEN NOSEWHEEL TOUCHED RWY; THE AIRPLANE MADE SHARP L TURN OFF RWY UNTIL R RUDDER AND BRAKES COULD RETURN AIRPLANE TO RWY. INSPECTION THE NEXT MORNING REVEALED THAT NOSE GEAR STRUT HAD LOST NITROGEN CHARGE DUE TO A LEAK PREVENTING THE LOCKING CAM FROM ENGAGING AND ALLOWING NOSEWHEEL TO TURN FROM SIDE TO SIDE. STRUT WAS FILLED WITH NITROGEN AND GEAR RECYCLED SEVERAL TIMES DURING WHICH STRUT EXTENDED AND NOSEWHEEL LOCKED IN STRAIGHT AHEAD POS WITHOUT ANY SIDE TO SIDE MOVEMENT. AIRPLANE DEPARTED ARPT 4 1/2 HRS PRIOR TO INCIDENT AT WHICH TIME NOSE STRUT APPEARED TO HAVE NORMAL 3-4 INCH EXTENSION. HENCEFORTH; WT WILL BE APPLIED TO NOSE DURING PREFLT TO MAKE SURE STRUT WORKING CORRECTLY. MAINT TO FIND SOURCE OF LEAK HAS BEEN SCHEDULED.
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.