What happened
During an approach and landing at Saint Louis-Lambert Airport, the aircraft's undercarriage failed. As the plane touched down, the landing gear collapsed, causing the airframe to make contact with the runway surface. The aircraft slid several yards along its belly before the movement ceased.
There were no injuries reported among the two pilots on board. However, the impact and subsequent sliding resulted in the aircraft being damaged beyond repair.
Findings
Investigations into the structural failure identified that the landing gear assembly had been improperly installed by maintenance staff. Specifically, the investigation determined that a pneumatic line connected to the down port of the nose landing gear actuator had become chafed. This improperly installed component led to the line chafing through, which ultimately caused the gear retraction mechanism to fail during the landing sequence.