What happened
The aircraft was involved in a landing incident that resulted in significant structural damage due to a mechanical failure. During the initial phase of the landing roll, the pilot heard a loud report, which prompted him to abort the landing and initiate a go-around. After performing a minimum speed landing on the subsequent attempt, the tire failed catastrophically. The rim dug into the sod surface, causing a sudden stoppage of the aircraft.
The investigation
An examination of the event revealed that the tire failure was caused by the separation of the tire from the rim. This mechanical disconnection led to the rim making direct contact with the ground. Despite the severity of the stoppage, the surface of the sod strip was described as good, indicating that environmental conditions were not a primary contributing factor to the incident.
Findings
The primary finding was the separation of the tire from the rim during the landing process. This failure resulted in the rim digging into the ground, causing the sudden stoppage and subsequent damage to the aircraft. The pilot's decision to perform a minimum speed landing after hearing the initial report played a role in the dynamics of the incident, but the root cause remained the mechanical failure of the tire assembly.