During the takeoff roll, witness evidence suggested that the right mainwheel tyre had blown. The pilot requested a low pass for an inspection of the gear and it was determined that the complete right mainwheel was missing. After reducing fuel weight to a minimum by burnoff, the pilot carried out a wheels-up landing on the runway which had been foamed in advance. Subsequent on-site inspection by the Civil Aviation Authority airworthiness staff determined that four adjacent mainwheel tie bolts had failed due to under-torquing. The resulting play in the wheel halves then caused the mainwheel bearing to fail followed by the stripping of the remaining tie bolt nuts and the complete separation of the outer half of the mainwheel and the tyre. The last periodic inspection of the aircraft was completed just prior to the accident flight.
