N737JE

On April 27, 1996, at 1259 hours Pacific daylight time, a Cessna TR182, N737JE, owned and operated by the pilot, veered left off runway 28R during landing rollout at Montgomery Field, San Diego, California. The airplane was substantially damaged and the private pilot was not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed during the personal flight which originated from Modesto, California, at 1030.

According to the pilot, following an uneventful flight, he touched down without mishap. However, during rollout he lost directional control of the airplane after allowing the yoke to come forward for taxiing off the runway. The airplane's nose gear assembly separated from the airplane and the right wing contacted the ground.

Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspectors reported that during their April 30, 1996, inspection of the accident airplane, no evidence was found of preimpact mechanical failures or malfunctions. The inspection revealed evidence of an overload failure in a sideways direction of the nose landing gear assembly. The left main landing gear tire was observed to have flat spots on it. No discrepancies were found with the operation of either of the brake assemblies. The FAA further reported observing tire tread skid marks on the runway which were several hundred feet in length. The marks were consistent with the accident airplane's skid path.