Accident Overview
On March 22, 2015, at approximately 1115 mountain standard time, a Beech B23, registration N7628R, veered off runway 21 during the landing rollout at Flagstaff Pulliam Airport (FLG) in Flagstaff, Arizona. The flight was operated by the private pilot and owner under 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as a local area personal flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan had been filed. The airplane had departed FLG about 1050.
Pilot Narrative
According to the pilot, just prior to rotation for takeoff, the nose wheel seemed to turn left slightly. Rudder input maintained a straight path on the runway centerline, but the nose wheel side skidded for a few seconds before he rotated. The flight lasted about an hour before returning to the airport for a full stop landing. The pilot stated that touchdown was smooth and uneventful. During the landing rollout, the nose wheel turned slightly left, and he corrected with full right rudder. He felt that the right rudder bungee did not have enough pull to stop the nose wheel from continuing to turn more sharply to the left. The pilot applied right brake but was unable to correct the turn. The airplane tipped up on its nose wheel and right main landing gear, which caused the nose wheel to turn further left. He then applied full power and elevator to reduce the weight on the nose wheel in an attempt to turn it to the right. The right wing struck a precision approach path indicator (PAPI) box, and the pivot tube on the left wing caught the top of another PAPI box. After the airplane came to a stop, the pilot and passenger exited.
Weather and Inspection
Flagstaff airport reported wind from 230 degrees at 13 knots gusting to 20 knots. The airplane was inspected by a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector, with no mechanical anomalies identified.