Incident Overview
A certificated private pilot was performing a landing on a gravel area of a beach adjacent to a river. During the landing roll, the right main wheel assembly failed. The landing gear strut subsequently began dragging along the ground, causing the airplane to nose over.
Examination Findings
Post-incident examination of the landing gear strut revealed that it had fractured along a horizontal plane, perpendicular to the outside vertical surface of the strut. The fracture had propagated through the upper mounting bolt holes that secure the axle and brake mounting plate to the strut. The fractured surface displayed a dark brown/red coloration with ridges or stop marks radiating from the lower inside edge of the aft mounting bolt hole. These stop marks resembled progressive beach marks, which are characteristic of fatigue cracking.
The remaining portion of the fracture surface, located at the inboard edge of the strut between the bolt holes, exhibited a dull gray appearance and a shear lip oriented at approximately a 45-degree angle from the lower surface. Additional fracture surface areas on both the forward and aft sides of the bolt holes were also gray in appearance, with small patches of red rust and corrosion.