HAILEY, ID, USA
N3719J
Cessna 150G
The student pilot reported that after a normal landing with a left crosswind of about 5 knots, the airplane began veering to the left after the nosewheel came down. The pilot stated he attempted to return to centerline using right rudder, but that the airplane kept veering left. The airplane went off the left side of the runway and into snow, where it flipped over. An FAA investigator who performed a post-accident examination found a broken nosewheel steering linkage bolt. The student pilot had about 26 hours total pilot time, including about 4 hours of solo time. The airplane is equipped with wheel brakes actuated by the toes of the rudder pedals.
On March 25, 1998, approximately 1830 mountain standard time, a Cessna 150G, N3719J, departed the west edge of runway 31 approximately 2,000 feet down the runway and nosed over during landing at Friedman Memorial Airport, Hailey, Idaho. The airplane was substantially damaged and the solo student pilot-in-command was not injured in the occurrence. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the local 14 CFR 91 flight from Friedman Memorial, and no flight plan had been filed. The student pilot reported in his accident report to the NTSB that there was a crosswind from the west-southwest at about 5 knots at the time, and that during the landing flare and touchdown he was holding left aileron and right rudder (NOTE: winds were reported as calm in the 1745 Friedman Memorial hourly weather observation, as well as in an 1801 special weather observation.) The pilot reported that after a main-wheels-first touchdown, and after the nose wheel came down, the plane began veering to the left of the runway centerline. The pilot stated that he attempted to return to the runway centerline using right rudder, but the plane kept veering left. The student pilot reported that "At this point I could not keep the plane centered" (NOTE: the airplane is equipped with wheel brakes actuated by the toes of the rudder pedals.) The plane went off the runway and into snow, and flipped over. The student pilot reported that the total duration of the event, from main wheel touchdown to the nose over, was approximately 7 seconds. An FAA investigator who responded to the accident scene reported that in a post-accident examination of the accident aircraft, he found a broken nose wheel steering linkage bolt. The FAA investigator sent the bolt to the NTSB Northwest Regional Office in Seattle, Washington, where a visual examination of the bolt fracture surface was performed by the NTSB investigator-in-charge (IIC). During the visual examination, the IIC examined the fracture surface under various magnifications up to 50x. The fracture surface was generally on a 45-degree plane to the bolt's long axis. The fracture surface exhibited some corrosion, which was of variable concentration but uniform appearance around the fracture surface. The fracture surface did not display any regions of scalloping or beach marks. According to copies of the student pilot's logbook, the student pilot had 25.8 hours total pilot time at the time of the accident, including 3.5 hours of solo time. All of the student pilot's time was logged in Cessna 150 or 152 aircraft. Friedman Memorial runway 31 is a 6,602 by 100 foot asphalt and porous friction-coated runway which slopes up with a gradient of 0.7%.
A fractured nosewheel steering linkage bolt, which permitted the nosewheel steering linkage to become disconnected, and the student pilot's subsequent failure to restore directional control by use of differential wheel braking.
Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database
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