N340DWCessna 340A · 1978

On March 2, 2017, about 1034 eastern standard time, a privately owned and operated Cessna 340A, N340DW, was substantially damaged when the landing gear collapsed during landing at the Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport (FXE), Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The airline transport pilot was not injured. The local flight departed FXE about 0930. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed for the post maintenance test flight, which was conducted under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91.According to the pilot, the purpose of the flight was to perform a post maintenance check. He departed FXE to the northwest and performed maneuvers and aircraft systems checks before returning to FXE. On approach for runway 9, he observed a three-green landing gear down indication. During the landing roll, the left main landing gear collapsed, the left propeller struck the runway, and the airplane veered off the left side of the runway and came to rest in the grass.

Examination of the airplane by a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector revealed that the airplane had been substantially damaged. The left wing aft spar was bent, the left wing tip tank, wing flaps, and leading edge were impact damaged, and the left propeller blade tips were curled back. Further examination of the airplane by an FAA inspector revealed that the left main landing gear downlock link separated. The inspector added that a previous landing gear collapse occurred in the Cayman Islands on April 21, 2014.

According to airplane maintenance records, the airplane had undergone extensive maintenance in December of 2015, including replacement of the left aileron, left inboard and outboard flaps, and removal, inspection, and servicing of all three landing gear. The airplane's most recent annual inspection was completed on January 19, 2017. At the time of the inspection, the airplane had accrued 3,977 total hours of operation. According to the Hobbs meter, the airplane had been operated 4.6 hours between the completion of the December 2015 repairs (and January 2016 annual inspection) and the most recent annual inspection. The airplane had been operated an additional 1.3 hours from the time of the most recent inspection, until the accident.