Incident Details
An aircraft en route from Miami, Florida, to Cancun, Mexico, made an intermediate stop at Key West, Florida, to check weather conditions. During the landing at Key West, the left main landing gear collapsed.
Examination Findings
Post-incident examination revealed a wear pattern on the landing gear and fuselage structure near the upper end of the main landing gear spring installations. The fillet plate and seal around the upper end of the left landing gear spring were deformed and shattered. Additionally, the spring attach bolt had separated from the fuselage structure.
Background
According to reports, the aircraft had conducted numerous landings on rough fields in Central America. The owner of the aircraft resided in Costa Rica. The owner's log books and maintenance records were not available for examination.