HOLMGREN Bearhawk

Full Narrative

The pilot of the experimental, amateur-built tailwheel airplane was also the owner and maintained it as well. He stated that during landing, the right main landing gear collapsed. He added that there were two bolts that secure the right main landing gear and he found them both fractured after the accident. The pilot believed that one of the bolts was not properly tightened/torqued and failed first, and then the second bolt failed due to overstress. A witness, who was working on that airport at the time, reported that while driving back to the terminal, he noticed a small airplane approaching and it caught his attention as it appeared to be "wobbling" as it came in for landing. It then appeared as if the airplane "bounced" on the runway and departed the left side of the runway. The witness was unable to see the entire airplane touch down due his line of sight being partially obscured by buildings, but he noticed that one wingtip seemed to rise 15 to 20 ft during the "bounce." Examination of the wreckage revealed damage to the right wing, airframe, and tailwheel. The recorded wind at the airport, about 5 minutes before the accident, indicated an 80° left crosswind at 6 knots.