Incident Overview
An airline transport certificated pilot was landing a twin-engine airplane on a rough, gravel runway that contained potholes. The commuter flight had just departed a similar, rough runway. During the landing roll, the airplane rolled down the runway for about 600 feet before the right main landing gear wheel rotated approximately 90 degrees in its landing gear strut housing. The wheel then slid along the surface of the gravel runway for several hundred feet.
Damage and Component Failure
Subsequently, the lower landing gear strut and wheel broke away from the upper strut housing. The right wing settled onto the runway surface. The right propeller tips and the trailing edge of the right flap sustained damage. However, the right wing attach points for the landing gear were not damaged.
Inspection and Metallurgical Findings
Upon inspection of the airplane, a torque link installed on the right main landing gear strut was found fractured at the outer pivot bolt hole. A metallurgical examination of the torque link revealed a fracture through the pivot point of the link with features typical of overstress separation. The examination found no evidence of preexisting conditions, such as crack arrest marks or corrosion damage.