Costruzioni Aeronautiche Tecna P92 ECHO SUPER N323BR accident near Baytown, Texas

Probable cause

The failure of the landing gear bolts.

NTSB analysis

The certificated flight instructor and student pilot planned on performing a full-stop landing on the runway. After making a normal touchdown, and as the airplane slowed down, the right-main gear collapsed. The right wing impacted the runway and the light-sport airplane sustained structural damage.

A postaccident inspection of the airplane revealed that the three bolts attaching the right-main landing gear had failed. The bolts were sent to the Safety Board Materials Laboratory for examination. The examination noted that the two outboard bolts both had crack arrest markings, consistent with fatigue cracking from multiple origins. The third bolt (inboard) had signatures of necking and bending of the grip diameter and fracture characteristics consistent with an overstress separation. Prior to the accident, the airplane manufacturer had issued two service bulletins to address concerns with the proper torque on the landing gear bolts and replacement of the bolts. A review of the accident airplane maintenance records showed that the proper torque inspection service bulletin had been complied with; however, the replacement of the landing gear bolts with stronger bolts (service bulletin) was not applicable to this light-sport airplane.

Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for CEN10LA207 for the full record.