Well, well, well!
Same thing happened to me... same wheel, too! And I was on the ground!
Was doing a torque differential check as part of a maintenance test flight. 60% torque on one engine and it will usually lift the forward gear off the ground... and that's the configuration and attitude we were in. Wind was a direct headwind of about 15 knots which was pushing against the belly of the aircraft which was bearing the force of that 15 knots.
Suddenly, there was an odd sound and the aircraft lurched. The aft right gear collapsed and we had to hover taxi back to the apron where our maintenance personnel had a jack ready and a stack of tyres (tires for our American friends).
After some ginger hovering/resting on the tyres, the jack was put in place on the jacking point and the weight taken.
Then a normal shutdown... and then the abnormal paperwork.
The cause? Not quite sure. Could have been a failure of the swivel locks (or a failure to put them on by the other pilot) or fatigue of the strut. It's interesting to see other Chinook drivers experience the same problem or witness it.
The aircraft was flying again the next day.
Overall, no big deal. The 'Chook' is a great aircraft to fly!
If you're interested in aviation art (including Chinook pictures), check out my website at
www.ipas.com.au
Cheers and safe flying.