Piper PA28 N8314W accident near Thomaston, Georgia

Probable cause

A landing gear axle nut being pulled from the threads of the axle rod at an unknown time, which resulted in the pilot's inability to maintain directional control during landing.

NTSB analysis

The pilot performed a preflight inspection with no anomalies noted before the cross-country flight. He made a full-stop landing at an airport before flying to the destination airport. He configured the airplane for final approach. The main landing gear touched down, but when the nose landing gear contacted the runway, the airplane veered left. The pilot attempted to counteract the turn by applying rudder; however, the airplane continued to the left side of the runway. The right wing tip touched the pavement, the propeller struck the runway, and the nose landing gear wheel separated as the airplane continued off the runway. The airplane came to rest about 75 ft off the left side of the runway in a grassy area. The rod that attached the nosewheel to the nosewheel assembly remained connected to the nose landing gear fork; however, the rod was bent, and one of the nuts that secured the nosewheel to the rod was missing. Further examination revealed that the rod was threaded on both ends; one end had a nut attached, while the other end had bare threads that had been deformed in a manner consistent with the nut having been pulled off the threads. The missing nut was not located on the runway. The airplane had landed over 250 times between the most recent annual inspection and the accident. The location of the missing nut could not be seen during the preflight inspection because the area is covered by the wheel fairing. It could not be determined when the nut was pulled from the axle rod.

Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for ERA18LA226 for the full record.