History of the Flight
On 27 August 2015, the pilot of a Cessna 340A aircraft, registered YR-RAG, departed from Tuzla airfield, Constanța County, under visual flight rules for a private flight to Frătăuți airfield, Suceava County. One passenger was on board. The flight proceeded without any reported issues with aircraft systems.
Landing Gear Failure
Upon landing, after a ground roll of approximately 100 meters, the aircraft began to lean to the left. The pilot performed maneuvers to maintain directional control and attempted to balance the aircraft. The left main landing gear subsequently failed, folding upward. The aircraft continued rolling for another 400 meters, contacting the ground with the left wing tip and the left engine propeller blades. Neither the pilot nor the passenger sustained injuries.
Investigation Findings
The investigation commission examined the aircraft at the accident site. They observed that the attaching shaft of the left main landing gear's aft truss assembly was broken, while the forward truss assembly's attaching shaft was undamaged but had been recovered from its attachment hole. The landing gear assembly was taken into custody for detailed examination.
Maintenance records indicated that both main landing gears had last been removed from the fuselage in 2009 by AIRplus Maintenance GmbH, a Part 145 certified organization. Since that time, the aircraft had accumulated 159 landings. Annual inspections detected hydraulic fluid leaks from the shock dampers, which prompted the 2009 removal and reinstallation. Subsequent maintenance checks did not require removal of the main landing gears.
Metallurgical analysis of the broken attaching shaft revealed fatigue failure, resulting from the repeated and prolonged action of forces within the elastic deformation range. The analysis concluded that the break occurred when the forward attaching shaft fully withdrew, causing a sudden increase in loads on the aft shaft.
Examination of the installation showed that the forward truss assembly's attaching shaft was not correctly mounted; its safety pin did not secure the shaft, allowing movement. In contrast, the aft truss assembly's shaft was correctly installed, with the safety pin and wire securing it.
The weather conditions at Frătăuți airfield at the time of the accident were: visibility over 10 km, temperature 27°C, wind from 220° at 5 knots. These conditions were determined to have no influence on the accident.
Cause of Accident
The investigation determined that the accident was caused by the incorrect installation on the aircraft of the main left landing gear.