What happened
The incident occurred while a Cessna 185 equipped with floats was conducting operations from a grass strip. During the initial phase of the takeoff roll, the pilot experienced a noticeable shimmy in the aircraft's handling. Recognizing the anomaly, the pilot decided to abort the takeoff immediately.
As the aircraft was brought to a stop and weight was transferred back onto the landing gear, the right front wheel failed structurally. The wheel broke off completely from its attachment point. Following this failure, the broken strut dug into the soft ground surface. This interaction with the terrain caused the aircraft to lose stability and flip over.
The investigation
Examination of the aircraft revealed that it had accumulated approximately six hours of flight time since the floats were installed. The structural failure of the right front wheel assembly was the primary mechanical issue identified during the post-accident review.
Findings
The sequence of events indicates that the initial shimmy likely signaled an underlying issue with the landing gear or float attachment system. The subsequent detachment of the wheel and the resulting ground contact led to the rollover. The recent installation of the floats suggests a potential connection to the mechanical failure, although specific maintenance details were not provided in the source data.