ZALL JIHLAVAN AIRPLANES S R O JA-600 SKYLEADER

Full Narrative

On December 12, 2024, about 1315 Pacific standard time, a Zall Jihlavan Airplanes S R JA-600, N789RC, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Reedley, California. The student pilot sustained minor injuries. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 instructional flight.
According to the student pilot, he was conducting his first solo flight and had completed two uneventful takeoffs and two landings on runway 16. During the third landing approach, he “came in too close to the runway” before rounding out and flaring the airplane. When the nosewheel touched down, he heard a loud thumping noise near the nose landing gear and felt that he had lost control of the airplane as it started to “skid left and right.” He attempted to regain control and reached forward to retract the flaps; however, he unintentionally bumped the throttle control and increased the engine power setting. After he decreased the engine power setting, the airplane veered left, exited the runway, impacted a runway sign, the nose landing gear collapsed, and the airplane came to rest upright in the grass infield.
Postaccident examination of the wreckage revealed deformation and fracture of the nose landing gear assembly near the bottom of the steering tube. Examination by the NTSB Materials Laboratory revealed that the deformation and fracture were consistent with bending overload.