Piper PA28-R180, VH-PXL, Narayen (74km NNE of Taroom) QLD, 20 December 1988

During the taxi phase before take-off, the nosegear collapsed and the nose settled slowly. After the aircraft was evacuated, the pilots noticed that the nosewheel had struck a slightly raised termite mound located near the centre of the flight strip. The pilots commented that no impact was felt and they were surprised that such a small protrusion (4-5 cm) would lead to a nosegear collapse. Later inspection of the broken nosegear downlock revealed that the fracture was consistent with an overload failure. This accident was not the subject of an on-site investigation.