What happened
Before performing a landing on the lake, the pilot verified that the landing gear was in the up-and-locked position. This verification was performed using cockpit gear lights and by observing visual indications on the top of the floats.
Upon touchdown, the amphibian airplane veered to the right. The pilot attempted to correct the movement by applying full left rudder, but the right wing subsequently contacted the water surface, causing the aircraft to nose over. Witnesses at the scene reported observing that the right main landing gear was in the extended position, while the nose gear and the left main gear remained retracted.
The investigation
A metallurgical examination of the right main landing gear strut was conducted. This analysis revealed that the screws used to attach the casing to the piston had failed due to overstress under direct shear loads.