N8071R

On March 10, 2000, at 1705 central standard time, a Beech 65-B80 twin-engine airplane, N8071R, was substantially damaged during landing at the Midland International Airport near Midland, Texas. The aircraft was registered to a private individual and operated by Western Air Express, Inc., of Midland, Texas. The commercial pilot and two passengers were not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and a flight plan was not filed for the 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. The flight originated from the Midland International Airport, about 5 minutes prior to the accident.

The pilot reported that during takeoff roll on runway 34L, at 80 knots, he felt some vibration and the airplane started to veer right. He straightened the airplane and elected to continue with the takeoff since it was questionable whether he could stop the airplane "without crashing at the departure end of the runway."

The pilot flew by the control tower, and the tower operator advised the pilot that the right main landing gear appeared to be "abnormal." The pilot was cleared to land on runway 28, and as the airplane touched down, the right main landing gear collapsed.

An FAA inspector reported that an examination of the aircraft revealed that the tread on the right main landing gear tire had separated, and the right main landing gear mounting structure was "torn loose" from the wing.