The pilot reported that this was his third skydiving flight of the day and he performed a back taxi on the
runway for takeoff. He further reported that as he rotated the airplane for takeoff, he heard a “steady”
stall warning horn, the flight controls felt mushy, and the airplane would not climb. The pilot reported
that he aborted the takeoff and applied max braking and reverse thrust, but the airplane overran the
runway remaining. Subsequently, the landing gear collapsed and the airplane collided with a fence.
Category: Warrenton
According to the commercial pilot, following a skydiving operation, he returned to the airport. During
the landing attempt and as the airplane was about 15 ft above ground level, the airplane banked left and
the left main landing gear (MLG) then contacted the turf runway, so he immediately performed a goaround.
Ground personnel subsequently contacted the pilot via radio to inform him that the left MLG
had separated from the airplane. The pilot then performed an emergency landing, and, during the landing
roll, the left wing contacted the runway, which resulted in substantial damage to the left wing spar.
The pilot stated that he was descending the airplane from an altitude of 8,000 feet after releasing skydivers. During the descent, at an altitude of about 3,000 feet, the airplane’s door opened and contacted the underside of the wing. The pilot slowed the airplane and attempted to close the door but noticed that the door had warped and that the window was missing.
According to the pilot, as he taxied the airplane to the runway for takeoff, the left main landing gear collapsed. Examination revealed that the left main landing gear had fractured and completely separated from the airplane about 6 inches outboard of its attachment point at the airframe.