What happened
Upon touchdown, the left landing gear leg began to fail as the weight of the aircraft transitioned onto the wheels. This caused the left gear to fold outward, which led the airplane to veer to the left. During the excursion, the left wing tip made contact with an embankment, causing the aircraft to come to a stop.
The investigation
An FAA inspector examined the aircraft and identified structural damage to the propeller, the left wing tip, the left aileron, the left wing strut, the rear spar of the left wing, and the left gear box. The investigation determined that a 7/16-inch AN bolt, which secured the left gear leg to the fuselage, failed due to shear loading. This bolt failure allowed the landing gear to pivot on the gear box, subsequently causing the failure of the lower landing gear box web.