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Short SC7 Skyvan 3, G-BEOL, 3 May 2013

Air Accidents (AAIB)

Published on 10 December 2014, 22:54

Summary
Nose landing gear fracture with nosewheel detachment, Weston-on-the-Green, 3 May 2013.
aircraft category
commercial-fixed-wing
aircraft type
Short SC7 Skyvan 3
bulk published
1
date of occurrence
2013-05-03
location
Weston-on-the-Green, Oxfordshire
registration
G-BEOL
report type
correspondence-investigation

Report Overview

Summary:

As the nosewheel contacted the ground on touchdown on Runway 27 at Weston-on-the-Green the nosewheel and yoke assembly detached from the aircraft. The aircraft veered off the runway and came to a stop with a nose-down attitude. There were no injuries to the crew or passengers. The nose landing gear had fractured across the plated portion of the oleo. A forensic examination of the damaged nose landing gear assembly is being carried out by the manufacturer.

This overview has been truncated. Please refer to the official documents below for the complete canonical report.

Official Documents

  • Short SC7 Skyvan 3 G-BEOL 11-13.pdf
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Document Content Preview

Extracted text from the first few pages of the official documents.

Short SC7 Skyvan 3 G-BEOL 11-13.pdf

13� Crown copyright 2013 AAIB Bulletin: 11/2013 G-BEOL EW/G2013/05/02 ACCIDENT Aircraft Type and Registration: Short SC7 Skyvan 3, G-BEOL No & Type of Engines: 2 Garrett Airesearch TPE331-2-201A turboprop engines Year of Manufacture: 1977 (Serial no: SH.1954) Date & Time (UTC): 3 May 2013 at 1320 hrs Location: Weston-on-the-Green, Oxfordshire Type of Flight: Aerial Work Persons on Board: Crew - 1 Passengers - 3 Injuries: Crew - None Passengers - None Natur e of Damage: Nose landing gear fractured, nosewheel detached, damaged frames on the underside of fuselage Commander’s Licence: Private Pilot’s Licence Commander’s Age: 59 years Commander ’s Flying Experience: 1,117 hours (of which 146 were on type) Last 90 days - 92 hours Last 28 days - 35 hours Information Sour ce: Aircraft Accident Report Form submitted by the pilot and enquiries by the AAIB Synopsis As the nosewheel contacted the ground on touchdown on Runway 27 at Weston-on-the-Green the nosewheel and yoke assembly detached from the aircraft. The aircraft veered off the runway and came to a stop with a nose ‑down attitude. There were no injuries to the crew or passengers. The nose landing gear had fractured across the plated portion of the oleo. A forensic examination of the damaged nose landing gear assembly is being carried out by the manufacturer. History of the flight The aircraft had returned to Weston-on-the-Green after refuelling at RAF Brize Norton and made an uneventful approach to the grass Runway 27. The pilot was about to take up steering control on the tiller but as the nosewheel touched down the wheel and its yoke detached from the aircraft. The aircraft veered off the runway to a controlled stop. The pilot conducted engine and aircraft shutdown drills and the passengers and crew disembarked the aircraft without further incident. The nosewheel and yoke assembly had come to rest at the edge of the runway having sheared from the oleo within the plated portion just above the yoke. 14� Crown copyright 2013 AAIB Bulletin: 11/2013 G-BEOL EW/G2013/05/02 Pilot’s comment The pilot described the landing, up to the nose landing gear failure at Weston-on-the-Green, as “quite normal with nothing untoward”. However on reflection he noted that during the landing at RAF Brize Norton he became aware of more nose gear shimmy than usual. This subsided as his speed decayed and he thought nothing more of it. The shimmy did not re-appear during taxi and takeoff for the return flight to Weston-on-the-Green. Aircraft details The Short SC7 Skyvan is an all-metal high-wing monoplane powered by two turboprop engines. It is fitted with fixed tricycle landing gear with a steerable nosewheel. It is designed to operate from prepared and unprepared runways and although its primary role was originally for cargo transport it is often used as a parachute drop aircraft. Engineering investigation The remains of the nose landing gear assembly were removed from the aircraft and along with the nosewheel and yoke assembly were transferred to the manufacturer for analysis at the request of the aircraft owner. The lower portion of the torque link had separated at the mid-pivot point and remained attached to the yoke and the upper portion of the torque link had detached completely from the nose landing gear forging. There were two fracture faces apparent on the main forging and on the yoke. The inner oleo liner had fractured just above an area where its diameter increases to accommodate the male portion of the thread on to which the outer piston of the oleo and yoke attaches. The second fracture face was around the circumference of the outer oleo piston where the female portion of the attachment thread finishes. Inspection of the aircraft structure revealed damage to the structure of the underside of the fuselage consistent with the nose landing gear collapse. The mechanism by which the fractures occurred is the subject of an ongoing forensic investigation by the manufacturer.

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G-BEOL Short SC7 Skyvan 3 Weston-on-the-Green, Oxfordshire