ERA12IA187

After takeoff, the pilot proceeded toward a nearby airport, but he elected to return to the departure airport because he was unable to establish two-way communications with the air traffic control facility at the destination airport. The pilot extended the landing gear normally and noted three green lights indicating the landing gear was down and locked. After a normal touchdown while applying the brakes, the right wing slowly lowered. Postincident examination of the airplane revealed that the right bellcrank assembly and the bolt that secures the assembly to the landing gear trunnion were fractured. Examination of the fractured parts revealed features consistent with overload separation and no evidence of preexisting cracks or corrosion. The reason for the overload separation was not determined.

On February 16, 2012, about 1509 eastern standard time, a Cessna 402B, N402GZ, registered to and operated by a private individual, experienced collapse of the right main landing gear during the landing roll at the Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood International Airport, Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time and no flight plan was filed for the 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 91 personal, local flight from FLL. The airplane sustained minor damage and there was no injury to the airline transport pilot or pilot-rated passenger. The flight originated from FLL about 1449. The pilot stated that after takeoff he intended on flying to a nearby airport but had difficulty establishing two-way communications with the facility. He elected to return to the departure airport for a full stop landing. Prior to touchdown he extended the landing gear using the normal method and noted three green lights indicating all landing gears were down and locked. After a normal touchdown while applying the brakes, the right wing slowly lowered. Post incident inspection of the airplane revealed the right bellcrank assembly and bolt that secures the bellcrank assembly to the trunnion were fractured. The fractured parts were retained for further examination. Examination of the fractured bellcrank and bolt was performed by the National Transportation Safety Board Materials Laboratory located in Washington, D.C. The results of the examination of the fractured parts revealed features consistent with overload separation and no evidence of preexisting cracks or corrosion.