On April 26, 1998, a Beech C23 (registration N9144S) operated by Kern Charter Service was involved in an aviation accident near Tulare, CA. Investigators recorded the probable cause as: The malfunction of the nose wheel steering for undetermined reasons. This summary draws on records from the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) historical archive.
An airplane departed the runway laterally during landing rollout after the pilot experienced unresponsiveness to left steering inputs, followed by an abrupt swerve to the left and impact with a ditch.
Accident Narrative
During the landing rollout phase, the airplane deviated from the runway laterally and subsequently struck a ditch located between 75 and 100 feet off the side of the runway. The pilot reported that after making a minor directional correction to the right, the aircraft became unresponsive to left steering inputs. The pilot then applied full rudder, at which point the aircraft entered an abrupt swerve to the left and departed the runway surface.
Damage and Testing
The aircraft sustained damage that rendered it incapable of conducting a high-speed taxi test. Such a test would have been necessary to evaluate the aircraft's response to nosewheel steering commands. The extent of the damage thus prevented a direct assessment of the nosewheel steering system's functionality post-accident.