Peach A320 at Fukuoka on Mar 24th 2018, burst both nose tyres on landing, came to stop with nose gear tilted 90 degrees

Last Update: March 2, 2021 / 18:39:37 GMT/Zulu time

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Photo of Peach Aviation JA805P, Airbus A320 — Peach Aviation JA805P, Airbus A320 (Photo credit: m-takagi / Flickr / License: CC by)

Incident Facts

Date of incident
Mar 24, 2018

Classification
Incident

Airline
Peach Aviation

Flight number
MM-151

Departure
Osaka Kansai, Japan

Destination
Fukuoka, Japan

Aircraft Registration
JA805P

Aircraft Type
Airbus A320

ICAO Type Designator
A320

A Peach Aviation Airbus A320-200, registration JA805P performing flight MM-151 from Osaka Kansai to Fukuoka (Japan) with 159 passengers and 6 crew, performed a normal approach and final approach to Fukuoka's runway 16 and touched down on first approach. During roll out both nose tyres burst, the aircraft came to a stop about 1700 meters/5550 feet down the runway abeam a high speed turn off with the nose gear rotated by 90 degrees and was disabled. The passengers disembarked onto the runway via stairs and were taken to the terminal.

The airport was closed for about 2.5 hours until the aircraft was moved to the apron.

Japan's Ministry of Transport reported the occurrence was rated a serious incident, the JTSB dispatched three investigators on site.

On Mar 26th 2018 the JTSB reported the aircraft came to a stop on the runway with "the front leg tyres facing sideways". The gear strut received damage. An investigation has been opened.

On Apr 2nd 2018 the JTSB informed Japan's Ministry of Transport that the pins connecting the torque link separated during the roll out and were found on the runway.

On Mar 2nd 2021 the JTSB released their final report concluding the probable causes of the incident were:

In this serious incident, it is highly probable that the Aircraft was unable to continue taxiing with its nose wheel turned sideways about 90° because during landing roll, the Pin that connected the upper and lower torque links was disconnected, and it had lost control of the nose wheel steering.

It is probable that the Pin disconnection occurred because the mechanical strength of the threads was deteriorated by corrosion developed on the Pin threads, the Pin assembly could not withstand the loading transmitting from the torque links to the nut during steering operations, and the nut was torn.

Regarding the corrosion development on the Pin threads, it is probable that the cadmium plating was damaged and the corrosion resistance was reduced because installations and removals of the Pin and nut were repeatedly conducted after the aircraft production, and the torque links were misassembled.

In addition, it is somewhat likely that during reinstallation at the heavy maintenance check on the Aircraft, the lubrication of the Pin threads was not sufficient and the torque links were misassembled, which contributed to the acceleration of the corrosion development on the Pin threads.

The JTSB analysed:

(1) Malfunction of nose landing gear

It is highly probable that the Aircraft was unable to continue taxiing with its nose wheel turned sideways about 90° because during landing roll, the upper and lower torque links, which transmit the steering operations to the nose wheel, were separated due to the disconnection of the Pin that connected both torque links, and the nose wheel was free to move in the horizontal direction with no more control of the steering.

(2) Disconnection of the Pin

It is highly probable that after the Aircraft landed at Fukuoka Airport, the Pin was disconnected during landing roll. From the detailed investigation on the disconnected Pin, it is probable that because the dimensional stability and mechanical strength of the threads were deteriorated by corrosion developed in the threads, the Pin assembly could not withstand the loading in a direction of pulling out the nut that occurred when the torque links moved in the horizontal direction during the steering operations, the threads were chipped away and deformed, and nut being torn, which led to the disconnection of the Pin. Where and when the nut was disconnected could not be determined because the nut and others were not retrieved.

(3) Possibility of misassembly

Scratch marks were observed on the painted surface under the head of the disconnected Pin, and it is somewhat likely that these marks indicate that the washer was not installed properly or torque links were assembled without installing the washer during the aircraft production or past heavy maintenance checks. After that, it is somewhat likely that as noticing the wrong torque link assembly, the washer was reinstalled rightly.

It is highly probable that shur-lok washer had not been installed because the shur-lok splines were found fully filled with solid grease substrate. For this reason, it is somewhat likely that abnormal wear and friction marks