N6045CCessna T206H · 2006

On April 19, 2010, about 1600 Pacific daylight time, a Cessna T206H, N6045C, had the nose gear collapse during a runway excursion at Fullerton Municipal Airport, Fullerton, California. The Orange County Sheriff’s Department was operating the airplane under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 91. The certificated commercial pilot and one passenger were not injured; the airplane sustained substantial damage to the firewall by impact forces. The local public-use flight departed Fullerton about 1240. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan had been filed.

The pilot was landing on runway 24; the air traffic control tower (ATCT) reported that the winds were 220 degrees at 6 knots. The pilot reported that he encountered light to moderate turbulence during the approach. The airspeed was 69 knots as the airplane crossed over the airport fence on short final. As he began to level off over the runway, he encountered wind shear. The airplane rose rapidly, and then fell abruptly. The left main wheel hit hard on the runway. The pilot stated that a left crosswind picked up the left wing, and the airplane veered to the left. He corrected with left aileron and right rudder, but was unable to prevent the airplane from skidding off the left side of the runway and into the dirt. The left main landing gear struck a taxiway/runway sign. The nose gear collapsed, and the propeller contacted the ground.

The pilot stated that the ATCT informed him that his left brake may have locked up. He indicated that he did not apply any left brake during the landing, and was unsure if the brake malfunctioned after the hard impact on the runway.

Two Federal Aviation Administration inspectors stated that during a post accident examination they did not see any evidence of the left brake locking up. They provided a picture of two parallel skid marks of similar size that led off the runway into the dirt.