The plt rprtd that the left main gear collapsed as he started to taxi from the ramp area on a smooth grass surface. When the gear collapsed, the left wing dropped to the ground & was substantially dmgd. The plt rprtd the left gear leg had broken off 2 inches ‘inside the bulkhead.’ an exam of the broken part revealed it had failed from fatigue.
Category: 1987
The non-instrument rated plt was on a flt to psn the acft for sky diving activities. As he was transiting the albany arpt radar svc area at 5500′, radio and radar ctc were lost. Subsequently, the acft crashed in a steep dive and was demolished by impact. Psnl in the area rprtd an ovc cond and estd the vis was at least 1 mi. Abt 12 mi ese, the 0750 albany wx was in part: 1200′ sct, 6000′ bkn. Vis 2 mi with fog. Low clouds at the rprtg stn had lifted by the time of the acdnt.
The pic had been airborne in the lcl area to let parachute jumpers jump fm his acft. To lose alt quickly the pic performed a prolonged slip. On the final app the eng quit and alt was insufficient to reach the rwy for lndg. The off arpt lndg was unsuccessful. The pic stated that the poss cause of the acc was improper fuel flow resulting fm the slip and the abbormal attitude associated with it. It was also imcumbant upon the pic for a safe lndg to have selected the proper fuel posn by referring to the owner’s manual. The owner’s manual cautions abt proper fuel selector positioning. Fuel selector on ‘both’ is required for all but straight and level flt. The fuel selector was found posnd to ‘off’ during insp of the acft and 10 gal of fuel was found in the rt tank. No fuel was found in the left tank.