NTSB Factual Report

On January 20, 2001, at 1500 central standard time, a Beech BE-23, N7107N, right main landing gear collapsed during a landing on runway 36 at the Golden Triangle Regional Airport in Columbus, Mississippi. The personal flight was operated by the pilot under the provisions of Title 14 CFR Part 91 with no flight plan filed. Visual weather conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The airplane received substantial damage, and the pilot was not injured. The flight departed Columbus, Mississippi, at 1440 hours.

According to the pilot, this was the first flight following the completion of the annual maintenance inspection, which included replacement of the top half of the nose gear. The pilot stated that during taxi he noticed that the nose wheel steering seemed slightly "stiff" when applying right rudder, and slightly "less responsive" when applying left rudder. After about 15 minutes of flight, the pilot returned to the airport for a landing. The pilot stated that during the landing roll, the airplane veered to the right, and he subsequently applied rudder to correct for the drift condition. After several lateral oscillations, the airplane veered to the left again and started to skid. As the airplane continued the left skid, the right main landing gear collapsed and the right wheel assembly separated from the strut.

According to the pilot, the aircraft had recently had nose gear maintenance at a local repair facility. Examination of the airplane failed to disclose any mechanical malfunction or component failure.

NTSB Probable Cause

The pilots failure to maintain directional control of the airplane ,and subsequently resulted in the collapse of the right main landing gear.