| Crash location | 28.776945°N, 81.235000°W |
| Nearest city | Sanford, FL
28.800548°N, 81.273120°W 2.8 miles away |
| Tail number | N381MB |
|---|---|
| Accident date | 17 Oct 2015 |
| Aircraft type | Cessna R182 |
| Additional details: | None |
On October 17, 2015, about 1115 eastern daylight time, a Cessna R182, N381MB, was substantially damaged during a touch-and-go landing at Orlando Sanford International Airport (SFB), Sanford, Florida. The private pilot and a flight instructor were not injured. The airplane was privately owned and operated under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as an instructional flight. Day, visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed. The local flight originated at SFB about 1100.
The flight instructor reported that he was scheduled with his private pilot-rated student for one hour of practice landings. The pilot performed the pre-flight inspection with no anomalies noted. Following an uneventful short field takeoff and landing, the pilot set up for a short field touch-and-go landing. The approach was normal and the landing gear indicated down and locked. After a normal touchdown, the pilot configured the airplane for the takeoff. Just prior to the application of full power, the instructor noted a "shudder" and "nose wheel shimmy" and then the nose gear collapsed. The propeller struck the paved surface of the runway and the airplane came to a stop. After securing the engine other systems, the pilots exited the airplane and waited for emergency personnel to arrive.
Inspectors with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) responded to the accident site and examined the wreckage. They observed structural damage to fuselage, adjacent to the nose gear attachment point. The nose gear actuator was in the down and locked position and connected to the nose gear drag attachment fitting, part number 2243009-1. The nose gear drag attachment fitting was not accessible for further examination. The inspectors also reported that the airplane had been rented for an extended period since its most recent 100-hour inspection; however, the operator was not aware of any recent damage to the airplane.
Subsequent to the FAA inspector's examination of the airframe, the purchaser of the wreckage removed the nose gear drag attachment fitting and photographed it at the request of the NTSB investigator-in-charge. The photographs were then provided to Textron Aviation for their examination. According to the aircraft manufacturer's representative, the rivets that attached the drag attachment fitting to the airframe appeared to be sheared from overload. The shear loads also appeared to be in the forward direction relative to the airplane. This type of damage was consistent with an abrupt force in the forward direction.
A collapse of the nose landing gear due to a separation of the drag attachment fitting from the airframe. The separation was likely due to preexisting damage from an undetermined event.