N9698S

On September 4, 2004, about 1800 Alaska daylight time, a tundra tire-equipped Champion 7GCBC airplane, N9698S, sustained substantial damage when the right main landing gear collapsed during the landing roll at a remote landing area, about 40 miles southeast of Fairbanks, Alaska. The airplane was being operated as a visual flight rules (VFR) cross-country personal flight under Title 14, CFR Part 91, when the accident occurred. The airplane was operated by the pilot. The private certificated pilot, the sole occupant, was not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed. The flight originated at a private airstrip near Kenai, Alaska, about 1200. No flight plan was filed, nor was one required.

During a telephone conversation with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigator-in-charge (IIC), on September 23, the pilot reported that he was landing on a tundra-covered area, about 4 miles east of Gold King Creek. The landing area was oriented north/south, and was about 500 feet long. The pilot said that the surface was rough and uneven, and as he landed toward the north, the right main landing gear tire dropped into a hole during the landing roll. The pilot indicated that the right gear strut failed, which allowed the tire to rotate upward and strike the aft right wing lift strut. The right wing strut buckled, and the right wingtip and propeller struck the ground.