Pothole

The landing was normal, and I took a close look at the left landing gear after shutting down but couldnt find anything amiss. The tire and wheel looked good, and there was no hydraulic fluid seeping from the strut. The brake was secure and had tested fine on the landing, and when taxiing in. There was no damage to the wing, the landing gear door or any other part of the airplane. Not finding anything wrong with the airplane I forgot about it, wondering if I had imagined it. Ultimately, I figured Id hit a dog with the landing gear and, sadly, someone had lost their pet.

Editorial Staff

Monday, August 20, 2018 at 12:00 AM ET

Verified

Key Takeaways:

During takeoff from a recently repaved runway, the pilot experienced a loud "wham!" from the left main landing gear but found no visible damage upon inspection, initially speculating they had hit an animal.
Weeks later, the pilot discovered the true cause of the incident when overhearing a conversation about a newly formed pothole on that runway, located precisely where the left main wheel would have been.
The article highlights the unexpected nature of runway hazards, even on new surfaces, and the pilot's good fortune that no damage was sustained from the impact.

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It was supposed to be a quick, no-drama hop back to my home airport. The runway I was planning to depart was familiar, and recently had been repaved and striped. It had been in service for about six months since the paving work and looked fine. Everything checked out during the preflight and run-up, so I made a CTAF announcement, centered the nosewheel and added full power.

“Airspeed’s alive,” I called out to myself as I watched the needle pivot past 40 knots and swung my attention back to maintaining the centerline. The airplane was starting to get light on its wheels when I heard and felt a “wham!” from the left main landing gear. What the heck was that?