Chathams

What: Chathams Beech Pacific Queen Air en route to Ha’apai
Where: Fua’amotu International Airport, Tonga
When: May 26, 2010
Who: pilots Nick Caulder and Callum Patterson and six passengers
Why: While on approach, the plane’s control panel indicated its nose wheel was not operating properly. The pilots attempted to keep the nose up as long as possible on landing, but eventually when they had to put down, the plane made a “crunchy noise” as the nose frame, skin and blades scraped the runway. There were no injuries, although the nose wheel failed to lock, and collapsed.