I recall an incident at RAE Bedford involving the 2 seat Harrier during experiments on the high angle Ski Jump (at angles greater than those in service).
Due to an error in calculating the acceleration distance, the aircraft arrived at the ramp too fast and the subsequent rate of nose leg compression burst the nose leg oleo – big bang and clouds of vaporized hydraulic fluid.
The nose leg was badly damaged; this prevented a conventional landing and could have involved some risk during a normal vertical landing.
Fortunately, Bedford had a hover pit – a metal grill over a large concrete-lined hole originally built for the SC1, which enabled the Harrier to land vertically with out significant damage.