Introduction
On March 22, 2018, about 1800 central daylight time, a Cessna 310 airplane (registration N372WP) sustained substantial damage when the right landing gear collapsed during the landing roll at Charles B. Wheeler Downtown Airport (MKC), Kansas City, Missouri. The pilot and passenger were not injured. The flight was operated under Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as a personal flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and the flight was conducted on an instrument flight rules flight plan. The airplane departed from Shreveport Downtown Airport (DTN), Shreveport, Louisiana, with MKC as the destination.
Event Details
The pilot reported that all landing gear position lights indicated green during the approach, and the landing was normal. During the landing rollout, the right landing gear collapsed. A witness who observed the landing stated it appeared normal and was not a hard landing. After the gear collapsed, the airplane skidded for approximately 1,200 to 1,500 feet and veered off the side of the runway, resulting in substantial damage to the horizontal stabilizer and elevator.
Investigation
The broken landing gear components were sent to the National Transportation Safety Board's Materials Laboratory for examination. The examined parts included:
- End fitting bolt with a mating spacer
- End fitting assembly with mating adjusting screw
- Bellcrank assembly bolt with mating nut
- Part of a flange
The examination of the fracture surfaces of the end fitting assembly mating adjustment screw, the bellcrank assembly bolt, and the flange revealed features consistent with overstress. The failure mode of the end fitting bolt could not be determined due to smearing and secondary damage to the fracture surface.
Examination Findings
The end fitting bolt with a mating spacer had separated through a thread root at the bolt end. The bolt was bent, preventing easy removal of the mating spacer and bushing. The fracture surface was approximately flat, but significant smearing and secondary damage obscured finer features. Two crescent-shaped marks on the fracture surface aligned with mounded material on the sides, consistent with impact damage. The exact cause of the end fitting bolt separation could not be determined.