Overview
A pilot reported that while landing on his private airstrip, the left main wheel separated from the aircraft, leading to the aircraft nosing over. The incident occurred shortly after takeoff, but details of the flight duration were not specified.
Investigation Findings
According to a county sheriff report, the left main wheel retaining nut and cotter pin were missing from the axle. Additionally, the right main wheel retaining nut lacked a cotter pin. The report highlighted these hardware deficiencies as key observations.
Inspection and Maintenance
The airplane had undergone a major rebuild and annual inspection approximately five months before the accident, accumulating only 12 flight hours since that work. The pilot stated that he performed a preflight inspection on the day of the accident but did not check the cotter pins, which are visible if installed.
Passenger Actions
A statement in the sheriff report indicated that shortly before landing, the adult passenger in the rear seat unfastened his seat belt because two children sitting in his lap were interfering with control stick travel. The impact of this action on the sequence of events was not specified in the source.