Plane crash blamed on broken wheel

A man piloting a plane he bought 14 days ago had a scare when the front wheel of his landing gear snapped while landing at the Carson City Airport.

Steve Kralj of Reno was the only person in the Vans RV-6A when during a "hard landing" at 10:35 a.m. the support for the front wheel snapped off near the body of the plane.

The nose of the airplane dug into the ground as it swerved into dirt next to the runway. It continued for several feet, bending the metal prop and scratching the undercarriage. The airplane came to rest with Kralj at a forward angle, shaken but unscathed.

Neil Weaver, owner of Weaver Aircraft, was at the site of the crash when emergency crews and sheriff's deputies arrived. He along with the pilot and bystanders propped the plane on its rear wheels and carted it back to a hangar.

"It's a fatigue failure," Weaver said of the broken wheel. "It's not all that uncommon."

The Vans aircraft is a kit popular with thousands of users because "it's home built, but it's as close to factory as it gets," he said.

Kralj would not comment on the circumstances of the accident.

Federal Aviation Administration officials are expected to conduct an investigation. A spokesman would not release any details about when it would be completed or the depth of the investigation.

The runway was undamaged by the crash and quickly reopened. Kralj's airplane is based at the Reno-Tahoe International Airport.