Shortly before the aircraft landed a tractor had finished slashing the strip. The driver had not noticed any soft areas, and the strip appeared to be of a uniform colour. As the aircraft decelerated to about 20 knots during the landing roll, the nosewheel suddenly broke through the strip surface and sank to a depth of some 30 cm. Shortly afterwards the wheel snapped off near the bottom of the strut, which then folded rearwards and the aircraft skidded to a halt on its nose. The strip was in regular use, however this had been the first landing since isolated heavy rain had fallen over the area two days previously. It was probable that the rain had affected a small section of the strip, but not to the extent where the soft patch was detectable by aerial or ground inspection.
