N88AA

On February 3, 2006, about 1637 mountain standard time, a Cessna R182, N88AA, experienced a nose gear collapse during landing at Laughlin/Bullhead International Airport, Bullhead City, Arizona. Sawyer Aviation was operating the airplane under the provisions of 14 CFR Part 91. The private pilot, the sole occupant, was not injured; the airplane sustained substantial damage. The cross-country personal flight departed Scottsdale, Arizona, about 1600, with a planned destination of the Laughlin/Bullhead International Airport. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan had been filed. The approximate global positioning system (GPS) coordinates of the primary wreckage were 35 degrees 09 minutes north latitude and 114 degrees 33 minutes west longitude.

The pilot stated that he verified that the green light was illuminated on the gear indicator, showing all three landing gear down and locked, then made a normal landing. After landing, he was taxiing and the nose gear collapsed before he could get off the runway. The pilot further stated that he performed a normal touchdown and did not hit the runway excessively hard.

The airplane was flown twice previously that same day and received minor maintenance before the first flight. The maintenance facility director stated that the airplane was not moved from its tie-down spot for the maintenance. The first pilot that flew the airplane, and the instructor pilot that flew with the accident pilot prior to the accident flight, stated that no hard landings occurred and no discrepancies were noted with the landing gear. They also stated that no structural damage was noticed during preflight walk-around.

An inspection by a Federal Aviation Administration Aviation Safety Inspector revealed that the nose gear collapsed as a result of sheared rivets that attach the bracket assembly for the nose gear hydraulic actuator. Smearing on the rivet shanks indicated a loading directionality from aft to forward, which is the direction of normal retraction for the nose gear. No other damage was noted to the firewall or other airframe structures that would be consistent with a hard landing. The inspector opined that the evidence was not conclusive that the sheared rivets occurred on the accident landing, and may in fact represent damage resulting from prior ground handling (towing) operations.