Event Details
On February 2, 2013, at approximately 1400 Pacific standard time, a Cessna 305A, registration N342FS, experienced a runway excursion while landing at Camarillo Airport in Camarillo, California. The pilot/owner was operating the airplane under 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as a local personal flight. The commercial pilot and a pilot-rated passenger were not injured, but the airplane sustained substantial damage.
The flight departed Camarillo at 1300 in visual meteorological conditions, and no flight plan was filed. The pilot reported that the preflight inspection revealed no anomalies, and the departure and local area flight were uneventful. The three-point landing was normal in minimal wind. Immediately upon touchdown, the pilot felt an extreme tail wheel vibration, and the airplane abruptly made a sharp left turn. The airplane veered off the runway, causing the right main landing gear to collapse. The right wing, right aileron, right landing gear box, horizontal stabilizer, and right elevator sustained substantial damage. A postflight inspection revealed that the right rudder cable had broken.
Examination
An examination by a Federal Aviation Administration inspector determined that the rudder control cables for the front and back seats, which extend from the rudder pedals to the rudder control horn, had separated about 14 inches from the rudder pedals. This area was in the vicinity of the collapsed right main gear attachment point. No observations were made that could account for the tail wheel vibration on touchdown.
Cable Analysis
The National Transportation Safety Board Materials Laboratory examined the rudder control cables. The specialist conducting the examination determined that both cable fractures were consistent with overstress; no evidence of preexisting defects, such as corrosion or fatigue, was found.