Vans RV-6A, G-RVCG, 1 September 2004
Vans RV-6A, G-RVCG
Summary:
The pilot was performing a test flight. He returned to Runway 18 at Wellesbourne Mountford, an asphalt runway. The pilot made what he considered a good landing and opened the throttle for a ‘touch-&-go’. He heard a ‘grating’ sound and abandoned the take-off. The aircraft stopped on the runway. The nose leg was bent and the yoke carrying the nosewheel had ‘tucked under’. The RV-6A has a steel leg attached to the engine mount and protruding forward to a free-castoring yoke and nosewheel. The AAIB has been notified of a total of three accidents, all minor, to RV-6A aircraft in the UK. Of these, two involved collapse of the noseleg. The nosewheel yoke showed marks from scraping along the asphalt. The nosewheel assembly torque appeared normal and the tyre did not show signs of skidding. The noseleg met the design specification. It is possible that the leg was deflected by vertical load. Reports from eyewitnesses suggest that the noseleg may have been subjected to a higher vertical load during the landing sequence than the pilot appreciated, causing deflection so that the yoke contacted the runway surface.
Download report:
(13.13 kb)