What happened
During a personal flight operated under 14 CFR Part 91, an aircraft was performing a landing near Thedford, Nebraska, when the sequence of events leading to the accident began. As the nose wheel touched the runway surface, the aircraft started to drift toward the right side of the pavement.
In an effort to correct the path, the pilot applied left rudder and braking. However, as the aircraft's airspeed continued to drop, the pilot found it increasingly difficult to maintain proper directional control. This resulted in the aircraft departing the right edge of the runway. During the excursion, the plane struck a runway light, which caused the aircraft to spin toward the left and led to a collapse of the landing gear.
There were no injuries reported for the pilot or the passenger. The incident resulted in substantial damage to the left wing of the aircraft.
Findings
- The aircraft experienced a loss of directional control following the initial touchdown of the nose wheel.
- Decreasing airspeed made it difficult for the pilot to maintain the aircraft on the runway centerline using rudder and braking inputs.