N6196BCessna 182A · 1957

On June 17, 2017, about 0945 central daylight time, a Cessna 182A, N6196B, nosed over after landing on turf runway 17 at Mike's Place Airport (96OK), Buffalo, Oklahoma. The two pilots and one passenger were not injured. The airplane sustained substantial damage. The airplane was registered to and operated by a private individual under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as a personal flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident and no flight plan had been filed. The flight departed Alva Regional Airport (AVK), Alva, Oklahoma, about 0915 and was destined for 96OK.

The pilot reported that the airplane touched down about midfield and the landing was normal until the nose wheel touched down. He heard a loud noise from the nose landing gear area. The airplane nosed over on the runway and came to rest inverted (figure 1).

Figure 1 – Accident site

The landing path consisted of three parallel tire marks on the grass runway. A grease seal ring from the nose wheel assembly was found next to the center tire mark. The center tire mark transitioned into two parallel tracks in the grass; the tracks were about 1 ft wide and extended for about 8 ft in a straight line. About 20 ft later, there was a single track in the runway with about 6 perpendicular slash marks through the track. The nose wheel axle tube was found near the end of the slash marks. The single track continued to the main wreckage.

The responding Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector stated that the airplane sustained substantial damage to both wings, the fuselage, and the vertical stabilizer. The nose wheel was separated from the nose gear fork and the fork separated from the strut. A grease seal ring from the nose wheel assembly and a portion of the nose wheel axle tube were found in the debris path. The nose wheel axle bolt (figure 2) had separated and was not found. There were no preaccident anomalies noted with the recovered components.

Figure 2 – Nose landing gear depiction

A review of the maintenance logbooks revealed that during the most recent annual inspection on April 8, 2017, the wheel bearings were packed. No other recent maintenance had been completed on the landing gear system.