What happened
The accident occurred while an instructor and a student pilot were conducting touch-and-go landing exercises. During one of these landings, the right main landing gear of the aircraft collapsed upon contact with the runway surface.
The investigation
Post-accident examination of the aircraft revealed significant structural failure in the right main landing gear assembly. Investigators found that the torque tube assembly, identified by part number 504-5010-8, was fractured at both the forward and rear ears. Analysis indicated that a pre-existing crack was present at the forward section, while the rear portion failed due to tensile stress.
Findings
The failure of the landing gear was attributed to the structural integrity of the torque tube assembly. The component had accumulated 5706 hours of flight time prior to the accident. The combination of the pre-existing crack and operational loads led to the catastrophic failure during the landing phase.