What happened
The aircraft was involved in an incident during flight operations. Approximately two hours after the initial takeoff, the pilot began to hear a vibration. This auditory cue prompted the pilot to initiate a precautionary landing. During this landing maneuver, the aircraft encountered high vegetation.
The investigation
Following the incident, an examination of the aircraft was conducted to determine the root cause of the mechanical issue. The inspection revealed that a screw had stripped out of the wing root fairing. This failure allowed the fairing to turn up approximately eight inches on top of the wing, which generated the vibration experienced by the pilot.
Findings
The primary contributing factor was the structural integrity of the wing fairing attachment. The stripping of the screw in the wing root fairing permitted the fairing to displace upward. This displacement created aerodynamic disturbances that manifested as vibrations for the crew.