Accident Description
The pilot, accompanied by a certified flight instructor (CFI), intended to perform touch-and-go landings following replacement of the nose landing gear micro switch two days earlier. Runway 14 was in use due to a disabled airplane on Runway 23. After takeoff, the flight remained in the traffic pattern. The wind was from 230 degrees at 7 knots. The landing gear was extended on the downwind leg, and all gears were confirmed down by gear indicator lights. The flight turned base then final and landed with full flaps, first on the right main landing gear, then the left main, and finally the nose landing gear.
During the landing roll with full right aileron input and slight left rudder input, the right wing raised and the airplane veered to the left. The pilot added full power and right rudder input but could not recall if he added full right rudder. The airplane then “started to slew harder to the left.” He reduced power, applied the brakes, and used flight controls, but with no effect. The airplane departed the left side of the runway, impacted the upslope of a drainage ditch, and came to rest past a drainage ditch with the nose landing gear sheared and the left main landing gear collapsed; the right main landing gear remained extended.
CFI Account
The CFI in the airplane confirmed that all gears were down and locked on final approach, as indicated by three green lights. The pilot landed first on the right main landing gear, which felt solid. The CFI reported that he did not feel any side loading and later stated that when the left main landing gear contacted the runway, he felt the left wing drop. The pilot added power and reached to retract the flaps, but the airplane remained on the ground. The CFI further reported that the pilot reduced power before the airplane traveled off the runway into the grass.
Post-Accident Examination
There was no evidence of propeller contact on the runway; propeller contact was noted in the soft ground of the ravine area. Additionally, marks in the grass were noted from one of the main landing gears and the nose landing gear. Post-accident testing of the left and right main landing gears by an FAA airworthiness inspector revealed no evidence of failure or malfunction. The downlock rigging was correct, both downlocks performed as required, and the squat switches were rigged correctly and functional. The landing gear warning system and emergency extension system performed properly. Testing of one of the landing gear relays by an engineering firm indicated no evidence of failure or malfunction.