What happened
On 10 June 2002, a BEECH 65-A90, registered as ZS-IRJ, was conducting a domestic charter flight from a private aerodrome at Karens Camp in the Waterberg region toward a destination near Messina. Shortly after departing from the grass runway at Karens Camp, the pilot encountered difficulties while attempting to retract the aircraft's undercarriage. Unable to confirm that the gear had successfully retracted, the pilot opted to extend the landing gear once more and diverted the flight to Wonderboom aerodrome.
Despite the mechanical issue, the pilot performed a precautionary landing on Runway 11 at Wonderboom under clear weather conditions. The landing was completed successfully, and the aircraft sustained no further damage during the arrival.
The investigation
Following the diversion, the aircraft's undercarriage underwent a ground inspection at Wonderboom aerodrome. This examination revealed that the torque link on the right-hand main landing gear had failed. There were no injuries reported among the six people on board during the incident.
Findings
Investigators determined that the failure of the torque link was likely caused by an overload shear fracture. It is believed that the uneven and bumpy nature of the grass runway at the departure point may have subjected the component to excessive stress. While the investigation could not entirely rule out the possibility of a pre-existing crack, the analysis of the fracture surface was significantly hindered because the area containing the grease nipple threaded hole had sustained severe damage following the initial failure.