The pilot reported that he planned to remain in the traffic pattern at Jacksonville Executive Airport (KCRG) in Florida, for touch-and-go landing practice.
He completed the first landing of the flight and, after an uneventful landing roll, added full power for takeoff.
While raising the flaps from 30°, the Cessna 150 “started pulling very hard to the left.”
The pilot attempted to correct the situation with full right rudder and right brake, but the airplane continued off the runway and into grass.
He reduced power to idle during the runway excursion, but he was not able to control the direction of the airplane, and it nosed over, resulting in substantial damage to the wings, fuselage, and vertical stabilizer.
Post-accident examination of the airplane revealed that the left steering connecting rod had fractured at its connection point on the nose landing gear (NLG). The right steering connecting rod remained connected, and the NLG sustained little-to-no damage. The NLG was found in a left-turning position and could not be moved by hand in any direction.
The National Transportation Safety Board Materials Laboratory examined the steering connecting rod assembly and found that it exhibited a fractured rod end fitting.
Examination of the fractured rod end fitting revealed that the threaded shank portion above the stop nut exhibited plastic deformation.
Examination of the fracture surfaces of the rod end fitting revealed slant fractures consistent with overstress. The plastic deformation along with the slant fracture features were consistent with bending overstress.
The figure below shows the left steering connecting rod fracture areas and a Cessna illustrated parts catalog drawing indicating these areas on the NLG.
Review of the maintenance records found that, during the May 8, 2021, annual inspection, the NLG scissors were greased. No other recent maintenance entries noted work on or anomalies with the NLG.
The Pilot’s Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge, chapter 5, states in part the following about torque: To the pilot, “torque” (the left turning tendency of the airplane) is made up of four elements that cause or produce a twisting or rotating motion around at least one of the airplane’s three axes. These four elements are:
- Torque reaction from engine and propeller
- Corkscrewing effect of the slipstream
- Gyroscopic action of the propeller
- Asymmetric loading of the propeller (P-factor).
Probable Cause: The pilot’s failure to maintain directional control during a touch-and-go landing after applying power for takeoff, which resulted in a runway excursion and noseover.
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This May 2022 accident report is provided by the National Transportation Safety Board. Published as an educational tool, it is intended to help pilots learn from the misfortunes of others.
The NTSB’s Summary and subsequent “Probable Cause” don’t jive with the pilot’s Narrative History of the Flight on the NTSB Form 6120.
The sequence of events is critical as to when/where the steering link ‘failed’, causing the loss of control.
The pilot’s version is pretty clear that the loss of control, and his initial attempts to correct it with full right rudder and right brake, occurred while the plane was still on the runway.
OTOH, even the NTSB’s own language indicates they had some doubt: “It is POSSIBLE that during the touch-and-go landing attempt, the pilot was distracted with changing the flap setting. Ultimately, he did not maintain directional control of the airplane, which resulted in its departure from the runway surface.” This supports their claim that it failed after it went off-roading into the grass.
So …the pilot is pretty certain; but the NTSB is guessing.
The plane was still on the ground, in a level 3-point attitude: He never established a climb/pitch attitude that would have exacerbated the effects of gyroscopic precession and P-factor. The only “left turning tendencies” he’s fighting are from torque and corkscrewing slipstream.
I’ve flown a lot of 100 HP, O-200A (not “150 HP”)-powered Cessna 150s, and there’s no way that these left turning tendencies, even at full throttle, could not be overcome by somewhat-less-than-full right rudder.
Sorry NTSB, but I think you fumbled this one.
The Cessna steering rod ends can be damaged if the aircraft was towed by a tug and it turned the nose gear past the 50 degrees of travel. This will bend the rod ends and cause a fracture.
The pilot pushing on the rudder pedals cannot apply enough force to do any damage to the steering rods.
So, my guess is that the landing forces cause the rod end to finally separate.
AGREE!
why is it that it always the pilots fault
For once I would like to see someone else
take the blame. (da da)
How was it the pilot’s failure to maintain directional control of the airplane when the steering gear was frozen and broken? Must have been a mighty strong force to cause plastic deformation of that part. That picture shows that area to be really cruddy. Looks worse than the engine compartment of a city transit bus. Don’t GA owners take power washers to their airplanes? Just asking…
Regards/J
First, the airplane pulled due to torque, followed by running into the grass at speed with hard rudder applied. The forces at this point broke the rod end. Had the pilot maintained control, the break wouldn’t have happened. The parts are greased, and external,in a position aft of the propeller and tire. An area that is exposed to a lot of dust and dirt, even just taxiing. Too clean=no grease. It could be cleaner, but will look like that after a flight or 2.
From the narrative, the aircraft was ‘pulling hard left’ while it was still on the runway.
So, the left rod end broke on landing and jammed the nose gear to the left.
He pushed hard on the right rudder with should have pulled the nose gear to the right.
The NTSB folks noted that the intact nose gear could not be moved in either direction, so it was jammed by the loose steering rod.
I believe that it was prior damage due to excessive turn force due to towing and bending the left rod end.