Incident Overview
A single-engine airplane experienced a collapse of the right main landing gear after the aircraft encountered a ditch while taxiing for takeoff. The pilot reported that the taxi occurred on a dark night and that he relied on the landing light to navigate along a taxiway parallel to the runway, as the airport lacked taxiway edge lighting.
Sequence of Events
While taxiing, the landing light suddenly turned off, leaving the pilot unable to see the surrounding environment. As a result, the pilot inadvertently taxied off the left side of the taxiway. The airplane then encountered a ditch located in the dirt median, leading to the collapse of the right main landing gear.
Mechanical Condition
No pre-impact mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane were reported, with the exception of the landing light. The landing light failure was noted as occurring during the taxi.