What happened
The pilot executed a landing that resulted in a hard impact with the runway surface. Immediately following touchdown, the left main landing gear collapsed, causing the aircraft to veer sharply to the left and depart the paved surface. At the time of the incident, the air traffic control tower reported wind conditions from 220 degrees at 18 knots.
The investigation
During post-accident interviews, the pilot stated that the landing gear position indicator lights had confirmed the gear was down prior to touchdown. However, the structural failure of the left main gear suggests a potential discrepancy between the indication and the actual mechanical status or load bearing capacity during impact.
Findings
The primary factors contributing to this accident were the hard landing technique and the crosswind conditions. The collapse of the landing gear was a direct result of the excessive vertical load applied during touchdown. Crosswind component likely exacerbated the difficulty in maintaining directional control after the gear failure.