What happened
On March 2, 2010, a Tecnam P92-J, registration PH-EWK, was performing a training flight from Seppe Airport to Rotterdam The Hague Airport. The aircraft was occupied by an instructor and a student pilot. During the landing rollout on runway 24, the right main landing gear suddenly collapsed backward.
As the right wing dropped toward the ground, the instructor applied left stick input in an attempt to keep the wings level and minimize potential impact or injury. The student pilot shut down the engine before the aircraft came to a complete stop. The aircraft traveled approximately 50 meters before halting with its right wing resting on the ground. The incident resulted in light damage to the right main landing gear, the right wingtip, and the nose wheel. There were no injuries to the two occupants.
The investigation
The investigation focused on the mechanical failure of the landing gear assembly. The main landing gear on this aircraft type utilizes a leaf spring design, with left and right components mounted under the fuselage. These components are secured in place by a metal plate that fits over two bolts in the fuselage, held by self-locking nuts.
Investigators determined that the forward bolt, which is critical to the stability of the gear assembly, had broken. This failure allowed the retaining plate to dislodge, causing the right main landing gear to collapse backward during the rollout.
Findings
- The primary cause of the gear collapse was the failure of the forward bolt securing the landing gear retaining plate.
- The breakage of this bolt caused the metal plate to shift, leading to the immediate retraction of the right main landing gear.
- The aircraft sustained damage to the nose wheel, the right wingtip, and the landing gear assembly.