Pilot Debrief

CESSNA 150H near Maury City, TN — 2011-03-20

Final reportERA11LA203
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Date
2011-03-20
Location
Maury City, TN, USA
Aircraft
CESSNA 150H
Registration
N6555S
Category
Airplane
Highest injury
None
Fatalities
0
Phase of flight
Maneuvering

Probable cause

The pilot's failure to attain the proper glidepath during on off-airport landing.

NTSB narrative

During a local flight at 500 feet above ground level and about 10 miles from the departure airport, the pilot reported hearing a "pop" sound from the rear of the airplane. Concerned about whether further flight was safe, the pilot elected to perform an off-airport precautionary landing. After reducing engine power, the pilot attempted to "slip" the airplane and noted that the left rudder pedal would not move and that he could not slip the airplane to the left. The airplane subsequently approached the field higher and faster than the pilot intended and overran the intended landing area. Before coming to rest, the nose landing gear collapsed forward, resulting in substantial damage to the firewall. Postaccident examination of the airplane revealed that the nose landing gear steering linkage was pulled taut, which restricted movement of the left rudder pedal. The taut nose landing gear steering linkage was likely the result of the accident sequence. After disconnecting the steering linkage, the rudder operated normally in both directions with no other flight control anomalies noted.

Analysis

Primary failure mode
Mechanical failure
First missed decision gate
Pilot could have landed at a nearby airport instead of attempting a precautionary landing.

NTSB coding

Evidence available

  • Photos
  • 7 docket documents
View NTSB final reportView NTSB docket

Docket documents7

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