What happened
On July 13, 2016, a Cirrus SR22, registration N24EE, was performing a local flight from Aérodrome du Plessis-Belleville with a pilot and two passengers. During the landing phase on runway 25, the aircraft began to drift progressively toward the left side of the runway after touchdown.
The pilot attempted to correct the directional deviation using the right rudder pedal, but the control felt unresponsive or blocked. As the aircraft drifted further, reaching an angle of 20 to 30 degrees relative to the runway centerline, the pilot determined that a go-around was no longer possible due to the low airspeed. The aircraft subsequently exited the paved surface.
While traveling across the uneven ground, the aircraft encountered deep ruts, approximately 30 centimeters deep, left by a tractor. At a speed estimated between 10 and 15 knots, the nose gear collapsed, causing the aircraft to come to a rest on its nose. The incident resulted in damage to the nose gear and propeller.
The investigation
The investigation focused on the pilot's control inputs and the physical state of the rudder system. The pilot, an experienced aviator with approximately 22,000 total flight hours, reported that the right rudder pedal failed to move despite increased pressure.
Upon the aircraft hitting the uneven terrain, the right pedal suddenly moved downward. This led the pilot to realize that his right foot had been partially resting on the left rudder pedal, which had physically obstructed the movement of the rudder pedal assembly.
Findings
- The primary cause of the runway excursion was the improper positioning of the pilot's right foot, which was straddling both rudder pedals, thereby preventing the necessary rudder input to counteract the leftward drift.
- Environmental factors included a light crosswind of less than 10 knots.
- The structural failure of the nose gear was caused by the aircraft striking deep ruts in the ground following the excursion.