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| Date: | Monday 2 July 2012 |
| Time: | 16:45 LT |
| Type: |  Velocity XL RG |
| Owner/operator: | private |
| Registration: | N224SM |
| MSN: | 001 |
| Total airframe hrs: | 389 hours |
| Engine model: | Lycoming O-540-E4C5 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1 |
| Other fatalities: | 0 |
| Aircraft damage: | Substantial |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | Thomson-McDuffie County Airport, GA (KHQU) -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | Landing |
| Nature: | Private |
| Departure airport: | Elkins Airport, WV (EKN/KEKN) |
| Thomson-McDuffie County Airport, GA (KHQU) | |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
The pilot stated that he landed the airplane on the main landing gear and then lowered the nose landing gear on the runway. The nosewheel started to shimmy, and the pilot applied aft pressure on the control yoke; however, the nose landing gear strut assembly subsequently separated from the airplane and the airplane veered right and came to rest in the grass off the right side of the runway. The pilot further stated that he had experienced a shimmy event about 50 flight hours before the accident, and he decided to install a shimmy dampener on the airplane. Metallurgical examination of the components revealed the nose landing gear separated due to a preexisting fatigue crack caused by the earlier shimmy event and the subsequent incorrect installation of the shimmy dampener. Specifically, the shimmy dampener alignment pin had not been installed, which rendered the shimmy dampener ineffective.
Probable Cause: Separation of the nose landing gear due to a preexisting fatigue crack caused by an earlier shimmy event and the subsequent incorrect installation of the shimmy dampener.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
NTSB ERA12LA431
Location
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 04-Oct-2022 12:42 | ASN Update Bot | Added |
| 01-Aug-2023 21:24 | harro | Updated |
Corrections or additions? ... Edit this accident description
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