N2139G

On July 17, 1998, at 1245 central daylight time, a Cessna 182A, N2139G, operated by a commercial pilot, received substantial damage during landing at a private airstrip (2400' x 300', grass) near Springbrook, Wisconsin. The pilot was attempting a short field landing when the aircraft bounced and subsequently nosed over. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The 14 CFR Part 91 personal flight was not operating on a flight plan. The pilot and passenger received no injuries. The local flight departed from Hayward, Wisconsin at 1145

In a written statement, the pilot stated that he had flown a normal short field pattern with a final approach configuration at 300' agl of 40 degrees of flaps and an airspeed of 60 KIAS. The aircraft touched down firmly in a three point attitude and bounced. The pilot touched down a second time with a full aft application of the control yoke. The aircraft rolled for approximately 200' - 400' at which point the nose came down without the nose wheel. The nose wheel strut dug into the ground and the aircraft nosed over. The pilot stated that the nose wheel yoke failed on landing due to possible metal fatigue.

Examination of the airstrip by a Federal Aviation Inspector revealed the field conditions to be dry and the height of vegetation to be approximately 2' - 3'. The ground scar from the nose wheel was observed to be more pronounced than that produced by the main landing gear wheels. The nose wheel was located 156' left of the initial touchdown point at a relative bearing of 035 degrees. The fractured nose wheel U-bracket exhibited no evidence of fatigue or preexisting crack.