NTSB Factual Report

On March 3, 2017, about 1830 central standard time, a Mooney M20F airplane, N381LB, was substantially damaged during landing roll at Hebron Municipal Airport (HJH), Hebron, Nebraska. The pilot was not injured. The airplane was registered to Intelligent Quality Solutions Inc. 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 for the local flight that operated without a flight plan.

According to information received by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the pilot was conducting a touch-and-go landing when the airplane became uncontrollable and departed the left side of the runway. Documentation of the accident scene found that the airplane touched down about 400 ft past the threshold of runway 12. After about 1,000 ft, marks from the nose wheel showed swerving. The swerving pattern increased with tire tracks leading to the left side of the runway. The nose wheel separated from the airplane during the runway excursion and damage was sustained to the right wing spar.

Due to the airplane's position, the landing gear could not be examined on scene. After the airplane was recovered to the owner's hangar, without coordination from the investigator-in-charge, the airplane was put up for salvage before an examination of the nose gear assembly could be conducted. The pilot told the FAA inspector that in December 2016, he had a porpoise landing and propeller strike. It could not be determined if that incident contributed to the loss of directional control of the nosewheel during this accident.

NTSB Probable Cause

A loss of directional control during landing for reasons that could be determined based on the available information.