PA-28 Cherokee/Archer/Dakota/Pillan/Warrior
Flight Crew Multiengine; Flight Crew Instrument; Flight Crew Flight Instructor; Flight Crew Commercial
Flight Crew Last 90 Days 40; Flight Crew Total 2800
Aircraft Equipment Problem Less Severe
General None Reported / Taken
Aircraft
A homeowner from a house near our airport informed us that an object had fallen through the roof of their house. The person claimed that he was not home at the time but it had happened some time between XA:00am and XG:00pm EDT. The picture the home owner showed us was of a nose wheel shimmy dampener. I checked the aircraft I was flying earlier that day and discovered the shimmy dampener was missing. From approximately XD:15pm until XE:45pm; I was conducting a flight review for a pilot in one of the flight school aircraft. The aircraft was also flown from XX:00am-XB:00am that day. It is not clear to me if the part fell during my flight or the prior flight. The pilot I was flying with did the preflight of the aircraft. I think that it would be easy to overlook the missing part if it were not there during the preflight but I have no way of knowing if the part was on the aircraft when we took off or not.
[My check pilot] asked me if I had noticed anything irregular during the pre-flight. I told him that; as this was my first time flying this specific airplane; I spent a longer period of time looking over the gear and their present condition prior to flying. I informed him that I noted no anomalies; but I also couldn't recall if I had seen a shimmy damper where this piece had broken off. For some reason; all that I could specifically recall spending a good deal of time observing was the inner workings of the inside nose gear well; perhaps because I had to lay on the ground to see them. But; when performing the nose gear inspection; I did not notice anything out of place. I also informed the instructor that I was at a disadvantage because I had never seen this plane prior to that flight; so there was nothing to provide as a baseline beyond previous Arrow II's I had flown. I also never noticed any irregular vibration with the nose gear during the course of the flight; including with takeoff or landing.
When a homeowner near the airport found an aircraft shimmy dampener from a PA-28 had fallen through the roof of his home he was able to track down the aircraft via the part type and investigation of such equipped aircraft at the airport. The reports were submitted by the pilot undergoing a BFR and his check airman who had flown the offending aircraft during the time period in question.