Left main gear tire blowout causes ground loop (N2362C)

What happened

The aircraft executed a landing and subsequently ground-looped upon touchdown. The pilot reported that the left main landing gear tire suffered a sudden blowout during the roll-out phase. This failure resulted in an immediate loss of directional control, causing the aircraft to deviate from the runway centerline.

The investigation

Examination of the failed component revealed that the tube valve stem on the left wheel had fractured at its base. The root cause of this structural failure was identified as dry rot within the rubber material. Further inquiry into the maintenance history indicated that the inner tube had accumulated approximately 1,200 hours of service since it was new. Notably, the aircraft had undergone an annual inspection just seven hours and one month prior to the accident, yet the degraded condition of the tube was not addressed.