Pilot Debrief

Beech 36 near Reno, NV — 2019-05-05

Final reportWPR19LA138
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Date
2019-05-05
Location
Reno, NV, USA
Airport
RNO
Aircraft
Beech 36
Registration
N6684Z
Category
Airplane
Highest injury
None
Fatalities
0
Phase of flight
Landing

Probable cause

The pilot’s inability to maintain directional control during landing in gusty crosswind conditions for reasons that could not be determined based on available evidence.

NTSB narrative

The pilot was landing the airplane in gusty wind conditions when he lost directional control of the airplane. After touchdown, the airplane veered off the runway to the left, despite the pilot’s corrective inputs. Subsequently, the airplane exited the runway, struck two runway signs, and spun to the right before coming to a stop. An examination of the airplane revealed that the nosewheel would not center and that it pointed to the right. Impact damage was visible on the nosewheel strut assembly. Additionally, when the right rudder pedal was pushed to the full position, the right rudder was about 5° from full deflection. It could not be determined whether these anomalies were impact related. The airplane would have had right turning tendencies if the nosewheel condition existed during the landing. The pilot would have had less rudder authority available to counter the left turning tendencies if the rudder condition existed during landing. No other mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation were observed. The circumstances of the accident are consistent with the pilot’s inability to maintain directional control during landing in strong, gusty wind conditions.

Analysis

Primary failure mode
Loss of control
First missed decision gate
Pilot could have aborted landing when losing directional control.

NTSB coding

Evidence available

  • 3 docket documents
View NTSB final reportView NTSB docket

Docket documents3

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