What happened
The flight originated in Wadesboro, North Carolina, and was traveling toward Newport News, Virginia, with an intended fuel stop in Ahoskie, North Carolina. Upon arrival at Newport News, the pilot attempted to extend the landing gear but received an unsafe landing gear indication. After both normal and emergency procedures to address the gear retraction failed, the pilot diverted the aircraft to Southern Pines, North Carolina.
The pilot executed a wheels-up landing on the grass area situated between the two runways. During the landing rollout, the aircraft struck a ditch.
The investigation
An examination of the aircraft revealed that the strap bracket assembly was missing the nut used to attach it to the main landing gear spring attachment bracket. This deficiency caused the left landing gear to become loose and reverse direction, which prevented the gear from fully extending and locking into the down position.