Event WPR14CA033

Factual narrative

The pilot reported that while in the traffic pattern, the airplane's right rudder stopped responding. She aligned the airplane with the runway for landing and touched down long. During the landing roll, the pilot lost directional control and the airplane departed the runway, and continued through the grass and dirt for about 500 feet. The front main landing gear collapsed and the airplane came to a stop on its nose. The engine's firewall and the tube frame behind the firewall were substantially damaged. A postaccident examination of the airframe revealed no evidence of mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation. The pilot reported that while in the traffic pattern, the airplane's right rudder stopped responding. She aligned the airplane with the runway for landing and touched down long. During the landing roll, the pilot lost directional control and the airplane departed the runway, and continued through the grass and dirt for about 500 feet. The front main landing gear collapsed and the airplane came to a stop on its nose. The engine's firewall and the tube frame behind the firewall were substantially damaged. A postaccident examination of the airframe revealed no evidence of mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation.     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 Personnel issues-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Aircraft control-Pilot - C
• C Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Directional control-Not attained/maintained - C
• — Environmental issues-Physical environment-Terrain-Rough terrain-Not specified