Event ERA12CA381

Factual narrative

According to the pilot, he put the airplane into a forward slip on the final leg of the traffic pattern in order to descend onto the runway; the airplane bounced once upon contact and settled. He noticed the airplane was positioned slightly to the right of the centerline and was unsuccessful in his attempts to apply left rudder; unaware if the passenger (seated in the front) was blocking the right rudder pedal or if the passenger had applied the right rudder to maneuver the airplane back onto the centerline. The airplane veered to the right, and the left wing tip made contact with the runway before the airplane departed the right side of the runway and came to rest in a grassy area. The damage was substantial to the left wing and the fuselage. The pilot reported no mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. According to the pilot, the airplane was high on final approach, so he established a forward slip to lose some altitude. The pilot did not fully arrest the rate of descent; the airplane bounced upon touchdown and the nose swung to the right. The airplane then settled back onto the runway, but his attempts to correct the right veer by applying the left rudder were unsuccessful because he was unable to move the rudder pedal. The airplane skidded down the runway to the right, and the left wing tip struck the runway; the airplane departed the right side of the runway and came to rest in a grassy area. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the left wing and the fuselage. The pilot reported no mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. The pilot said that a passenger was seated in the front seat and that the passenger may have interfered with the rudder pedal. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12

NTSB Findings

Hierarchical cause / factor breakdown from the FAA bulk avdata database. Each finding tagged C (Cause) or F (Factor).

• C Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Directional control-Not attained/maintained - C
• C Personnel issues-Action/decision-Action-Lack of action-Pilot - C