Accident Details
On May 29, 2022, at about 1015 eastern daylight time, a Cessna 150F airplane, registration N8919S, sustained substantial damage in an accident at Jacksonville Executive Airport (CRG), Jacksonville, Florida. The pilot was not injured. The flight was conducted under Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as a personal flight.
Pilot Account
The pilot reported that he planned to remain in the traffic pattern for touch-and-go landing practice. After an uneventful first landing, he added full power for takeoff. While raising the flaps from 30°, the airplane began pulling strongly to the left. The pilot applied full right rudder and right brake, but the airplane departed the runway into grass. He reduced power to idle, but could not control the direction, and the airplane nosed over. The wings, fuselage, and vertical stabilizer sustained substantial damage.
Postaccident Examination
Examination of the airplane revealed that the left steering connecting rod had fractured at its connection point on the nose landing gear (NLG). The right steering connecting rod remained attached, and the NLG itself had little-to-no damage. The NLG was found in a left-turning position and could not be moved by hand in any direction.
The National Transportation Safety Board Materials Laboratory examined the steering connecting rod assembly and found a fractured rod end fitting. The threaded shank above the stop nut exhibited plastic deformation. Fracture surfaces showed slant fractures consistent with overstress. The plastic deformation and slant fracture features were consistent with bending overstress.
Maintenance History
Review of maintenance records indicated that during the annual inspection on May 8, 2021, the NLG scissors were greased. No other recent maintenance entries noted work on or anomalies with the NLG.