Okay, so how come it seems like it's always the nose gear that fails? Are nose gear assemblies not built to the same specs as main gear? It seems like every few months you see a plane land with the nose wheel up, but not the main (which is a good thing).
Very interesting question!
Not that I have any data to found this, but this is what
I could imagine as a cause:
The main gears are (more or less) close to the center of mass, which means that during deployment their "anchor point" will not move much during the deployment.
The nose gear -in contrast- is very far from the center of mass, so its "anchor point" will be able to move much (upwards) during the deployment. This could make some latches not get enough force to engage.
A more "stable" attachment point might make the difference.
...but I am just throwing my thoughts here. No *real* knowledge about gear-deployment mechanics...
What is it called? "2 cents"..? from me
/Kuddel