The pilot reported that, during the landing on the private grass strip in Cherryville, N.C., the main landing gear on the Maule M4-220C collapsed.
A post-accident examination of the main landing gear assembly revealed that both tubes of the “A” frame assembly on each main landing gear exhibited buckling about mid-length and that both of the main landing gear struts were bent in the positive direction, which is consistent with a hard landing.
No corrosion was noted on the mounting hardware, landing gear attachment mounts, or main landing gear structure.
No other anomalies were noted with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.
It is likely that the pilot improperly flared the airplane, which resulted in a hard landing and main landing gear collapse.
The NTSB determined the probable cause as the pilot’s improper landing flare, which resulted in a hard landing and subsequent main landing gear collapse.
NTSB Identification: ERA14LA295
This June 2014 accident report is provided by the National Transportation Safety Board. Published as an educational tool, it is intended to help pilots learn from the misfortunes of others.
First off don’t crash. Then get the ABI HD gear for your Maule with the NAS6606 gear bolts and the most serious maintenance problems are gone.
The pilot didn’t “land” he CRASHED on landing! Tell it like it is. You’d have to smack a Maule pretty hard to break it like that.