WPR16LA174

The father of the passenger reported that his son, who was the passenger and owner, had just purchased the airplane, that a prepurchase inspection was conducted, and that “everything looked good.” The pilot was conducting a personal, local flight in the airplane, which included normal maneuvers and several touch-and-go landings with no issues. However, after the last landing and while taxiing the airplane back to the ramp, the left main landing gear (MLG) collapsed. Examination of the left MLG’s truss structure, which is welded to the fuselage, revealed substantial damage to the fuselage frame structure. Examination also revealed that a weld joint where the truss mounts to the fuselage was cracked and broken. Rust was noted around the weld area, and it appeared that a previous crack had been repaired. The father reported that the area of the failure was hidden behind the bungee and was not visible during the prepurchase inspection. Given the evidence, it is likely that the left main landing gear collapsed due to the weld joint failure.

On August 24, 2016, about 1500 Pacific daylight time, an experimental, amateur-built Skybolt airplane, N300SB, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Corvallis, Oregon. The pilot and passenger were not injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. The father of the passenger, who was the owner, reported that his son had just purchased the airplane, that a prepurchase inspection was conducted, and that “everything looked good.” He said his son asked the pilot to fly with him because he had extensive experience in similar airplanes. The flight included normal maneuvers and several touch-and-go landings with no issues. However, after the last landing and as he was taxiing the airplane back to the ramp, the left main landing gear (MLG) collapsed. Examination of the MLG truss structure, which is welded to the fuselage, revealed substantial damage to the fuselage frame structure. Examination also revealed that a weld joint where the truss mounts to the fuselage was cracked and broken. Rust was noted around the weld area, and it appeared that a previous crack had been repaired. The father reported that the area of the failure was hidden behind the bungee and was not visible during the prepurchase inspection.