What happened
During a routine local training flight at Castle AFB, the crew was performing touch-and-go maneuvers. Upon making contact with the runway, the aircraft's landing gear experienced a mechanical failure. This malfunction caused the plane to slide along the runway surface before finally coming to a stop.
While there were no injuries reported among the occupants, the impact and subsequent slide resulted in the aircraft being damaged beyond repair.
Findings
Investigations into the incident determined that the primary factor was the failure of the landing gear lever latch following touchdown. This mechanical breakdown caused the aircraft to sink toward the runway surface during the landing phase.