Accident Overview
On September 7, 2012, at 1500 central daylight time, a Socata TBM 700, registration N850ZM, experienced a landing gear collapse while landing on runway 17 at Horseshoe Bay Resort Airport, Horseshoe Bay, Texas. The aircraft, operated by the private pilot under 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91, had departed Abilene, Texas, at 1230 for an uneventful cross-country flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time, and no flight plan was filed.
Landing and Gear Failure
Upon approach, the pilot configured the airplane for landing and received cockpit indications that the landing gear was down and locked. After a normal touchdown, the right main landing gear collapsed, causing the airplane to veer off the runway. The pilot and two passengers were not injured. The aircraft sustained substantial damage.
Post-Accident Examination
Inspection of the landing gear following the accident revealed that the right main landing gear actuator had separated from the actuator ball joint. No other anomalies were noted. Further examination of the actuator rod and ball joint showed that the ball joint appeared to be not centered and set in its normal position.
Subsequent Service Bulletins and Airworthiness Directive
After several other events involving similar landing gear malfunctions, the manufacturer issued two Mandatory Service Bulletins (SB) in April 2013: SB70-197 and SB70-206. These bulletins outlined protocols for inspection of the pistons and rods of landing gear actuators, as well as inspection of the ball joint centering of the landing gear actuators and ball joint mismatches. Subsequently, the Federal Aviation Administration issued Airworthiness Directive (AD) 2014-06-06 in March 2014, requiring compliance with the manufacturer's service bulletins to inspect, repair, or replace affected parts.