Accident Details
On February 16, 2008, at 1245 Hawaiian standard time, a Cessna 305-A, registration N473GF, operated by the Honolulu Soaring Club under 14 CFR Part 91, experienced a left main landing gear collapse during a landing at Dillingham Airfield in Mokuleia, Hawaii. The airline transport certificated pilot was not injured, and the airplane sustained substantial damage. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan had been filed. The local flight originated at Dillingham Airfield at 1230.
Pilot Actions
The pilot reported observing the windsocks at both ends of runway 8/26, which indicated tail winds of about 10 knots in either direction. The midfield windsock showed a direct crosswind from the north. The pilot elected to approach runway 8 and touched down abeam the midfield windsock. Upon touchdown, the airplane encountered a left-to-right crosswind. As the airplane decelerated, the pilot noticed a wind shift to a quartering right tail wind and decided to execute a go-around. As he advanced the throttle, the engine sputtered, the left main landing gear collapsed, and the airplane ground looped to the left as it approached the runway's edge.
Inspection Findings
A Federal Aviation Administration inspector examined the left main landing gear spring strut and found that the strut had separated where the wheel bolts to the strut. The fracture face of the strut was granular in texture and uniform matte gray in color. When the fracture surface of the landing gear strut section that remained attached to the wheel was closely examined, it exhibited an approximate 1/16 inch flat dark triangular section at the corner of the mounting bolt hole. The Safety Board Materials Laboratory examination confirmed the presence of a 0.072 inch fatigue crack at this location.