F30 Brio N37GA accident near Midland, Virginia

Probable cause

The pilot’s improper recovery from a bounced landing, which resulted in damage to, and the separation of the nose wheel and fork bracket assembly, and subsequent collapse of the nose landing gear assembly.

NTSB analysis

The pilot reported that he aborted a bounced, 3-point landing at a nearby airport and then decided to return to his home airport. During the subsequent landing attempt at his home airport, the nose landing gear collapsed, resulting in substantial damage to the fuselage. An examination of the airplane revealed that the nose wheel and nose wheel attach bracket had broken free from the rest of the nose landing gear, and these items were recovered from the aborted landing airport. Following the accident, the pilot reported that he believed that a no-flap landing may prevented the bounced landing. In an interview with the pilot after the accident flight, the pilot also reported that he performed a preflight inspection of the nose landing gear and that he found no mechanical failures or anomalies, and that the nose gear operated normally during taxi and takeoff for the accident flight. Based on this information, it is likely that the pilot’s improper recovery from the bounced landing resulted in damage that ultimately led to the failure of the nose landing gear during the subsequent landing.

Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for ERA24LA084 for the full record.