What happened
On 17 September 2020, a Mainair Blade 912, registration G-BZNS, was involved in an accident at Athey’s Moor Airfield in Northumberland. Following a flight from East Fortune Airfield in Scotland, the pilot landed on Runway 14 and began back-tracking toward the hangar. While taxiing at a speed of roughly 5 mph, the right main landing gear suddenly collapsed. This failure caused the gear to rotate backward into the path of the spinning propeller, which partially severed the landing gear struts and the spat.
The investigation
Investigators examined the aircraft and identified that the connection at the right drag link bar ear, where it meets the fuselage pod, had failed. Furthermore, the inspection revealed that cracks had also developed on the left drag link bar ear connection. The investigation noted that the front drag link assembly is engineered to permit movement of the rear suspension around a mounting bolt and to facilitate changes in landing gear geometry when the trike unit is folded.
Findings
- The primary cause of the gear collapse was the failure of the right drag link connection to the fuselage pod.
- Cracks were present on the left-side drag link bar ear connection.
- The aircraft sustained damage that was beyond economic repair.
- There were no injuries to the pilot during the incident.