Incident Overview
On July 29, 2012, at approximately 1400 Alaska daylight time, a Bellanca 8KCAB airplane, registration N5026B, experienced a landing gear failure while landing at Homer Airport in Homer, Alaska. The solo airline transport rated pilot was not injured. The airplane was being operated as a personal flight under 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed.
Pilot Account
During an interview with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigator-in-charge on August 8, 2012, the pilot stated that just after touchdown on the dry paved runway, he heard a noise and felt the airplane pull to the left. He lifted the airplane off the runway and noticed that the left main landing gear had separated from the fuselage. He elected to immediately land the airplane in the grass safety area adjacent to the runway.
Examination of Landing Gear
The spring steel left main landing gear assembly was fractured approximately 5 inches from the fuselage attach point. An examination of the landing gear assembly was performed by the NTSB Materials Laboratory, which revealed that the gear leg fractured due to fatigue that initiated from pits on the lower surface of the leg. The pits were filled with brown paint, and the brown paint was covered with white paint. A complete copy of the NTSB's materials laboratory factual report is included in the public docket for this accident.
Additional Notes
The pilot did not complete a NTSB Accident/Incident Reporting Form 6120.1.