Accident Description
On February 18, 2012, at 1115 eastern standard time, a Cessna 182A, registration N20DE, sustained substantial damage when the left wheel separated from the left main landing gear during the landing roll at Harry Clever Field Airport (PHD) in New Philadelphia, Ohio. The left wing struck the ground, resulting in substantial damage. The pilot and two passengers were not injured. The airplane was registered to and operated by E & S Aircraft, Inc., under 14 CFR Part 91 as a personal flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed. The flight originated from Richard Downing Airport (I40) in Coshocton, Ohio, at 1100.
Pilot Report
The pilot reported that the landing was normal. During the landing roll, while the airplane was turning onto the taxiway, the left wheel separated from the landing gear.
Examination of Aircraft
Examination of the airplane revealed that the four bolts attaching the wheel to the landing gear were broken.
Materials Laboratory Examination
The National Transportation Safety Board's Materials laboratory examined the four fractured bolts. Two bolts were smaller in diameter. Their fracture surfaces had a uniform matte-gray rough appearance, consistent with ductile overstress fractures under tension loads. The two larger diameter bolts were bent in the shank area. Fracture surfaces on both bolts showed matte-gray features mixed with areas of post fracture damage, all consistent with ductile overstress fractures under off-axis loading.
Additional Information
The pilot reported that the airplane had been converted to a tailwheel configuration per a supplemental type certificate and was equipped with tundra tires. The airplane was routinely landed off runways on sandbars, strip mines, and fields. The pilot stated that installing new bolts could have prevented the accident.