The nose gear of a Daher TBM 700, registered as VH-YZZ, collapsed during a rough landing at Australia’s Lake Macquarie Airport after the pilot briefly lost consciousness just before touchdown, due to a previously undiagnosed heart condition, according to a final report released last week by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau. Neither the pilot nor the passenger was injured in the Dec. 15, 2015 accident; the aircraft was substantially damaged.
When the aircraft was on short final, the pilot began to feel “woozy” and, shortly after, lost consciousness. Video footage obtained by the ATSB showed that the turboprop single descended onto the runway and bounced before hitting the pavement in a nose-low attitude to the left of runway centerline. This impact collapsed the nose gear and caused the aircraft’s nose to strike the runway, bending all four propeller blades.
The pilot regained consciousness approximately five to 10 seconds after blacking out. Then the aircraft skidded on the runway before veering to the right and onto the grass, where the TBM eventually came to rest.
"While in this instance, the pilot had no indication of a health concern before to the event, it is important for pilots to assess their fitness to fly prior to flight," the ATSB reminded pilots in its report.