Preliminary Report: Piper PA-18 Runway Excursion at Los Cedros Aerodrome

Incident Overview and Location On December 16, 2023, at 18:00 local time (21:00 UTC), a Piper PA-18 aircraft was involved in an aviation occurrence at Los Cedros Aerodrome (SCED), located in the Maule Region of Chile. The incident occurred on runway 19, which is part of a private aerodrome situated approximately 30 kilometers north of Talca. The site is at an elevation of 93 meters above sea level, with coordinates 32°09’28’’S and 71°36’422’’W. ## Aircraft and Personnel The aircraft was a Piper Aircraft Inc. PA-18, manufactured in 1953, with serial number 18-2911. At the time of the incident, the aircraft had 6,987.5 hours of service. The pilot in command was a 59-year-old Chilean national holding a valid Private Pilot License for single-engine land aircraft. The pilot was medically fit, with a requirement for corrective lenses. The aircraft was owned by the pilot and belonged to an aviation club. There was one passenger on board, a female. ## Sequence of Events The incident occurred during a flight involving landing and takeoff practices at the aerodrome. While executing a crosswind landing practice on runway 19, the aircraft deviated to the right side during the landing roll. It left the runway and came to a stop 18 meters to the right of the runway, in a direction of 010° North, which is the reverse of the landing direction. ## Damage and Injuries Both the pilot and the passenger were uninjured. The aircraft sustained significant damage to the wing, fuselage, landing gear, and propeller, attributed to impact with the walls of a ditch outside the runway. An on-site inspection revealed that the lower fuselage skin behind the firewall was deformed. The wing-to-fuselage struts were deformed, causing both wings to droop. The left wing spar was deformed at the strut junction. The propeller exhibited backward deformation, fractures at the tips of both blades, and wear on the leading edge. The windshield was fractured, and both main landing gear legs were collapsed. Flight controls were tested and operated through their full range without issues. No fuel or oil leaks were observed, and there was no evidence of fire. ## Meteorological Conditions According to the Chilean Meteorological Service, the surface configuration was a weak anticyclonic margin. Satellite images showed cloud cover over the area at the time of the incident. The GAMET forecast did not predict significant weather phenomena for the aerodrome. The nearest weather station, Panguilemo, recorded an average air temperature of 15.0°C and 76.1% humidity at 18:00 local time. The prevailing wind was from the southwest with an average intensity of 3.7 km/h. Local orographic conditions could produce moderate descending currents during the day. The pilot reported observing considerable wind of approximately 10 to 12 knots on the runway windsocks. Upon landing on runway 19, the windsock indicated a crosswind from 270° (from the right of the landing direction). ## Investigation Status This is a preliminary report issued 24 months after the occurrence. The investigation is conducted in accordance with ICAO Annex 13 and the Chilean Regulation on the Investigation of Aviation Accidents and Incidents (DAR-13). The final report is currently under review, and the investigation remains in progress.