During a scheduled training flight, the pilot placed the landing gear selector in the up-and-locked position. He heard a loud pop/bang, and there was no “up-and-locked” indication for the nose landing gear.

However the main landing gear did reveal an “up-and-locked” indication. He recycled the landing gear with same results and landed the aircraft without the use of the nose gear.

The technician discovered the broken bellcrank idler (P/N 0842102-2) was causing the nose gear to be disconnected from the gearbox.

The FAA Service Difficulty Reporting Program data base revealed 17 reports of similar failures.

Part total time-5, 499 hours.