MOCKSVILLE, NC, USA
N2951S
Stroud SKY BOLT
According to the FAA, during landing on runway 09, the aircraft veered off the right side of the runway and nosed over. The inspector found a 300 foot skid mark made by the left main landing gear, and a 150 foot skid mark, made by the right main landing gear. The aircraft received substantial damage to the propeller, rudder, and left wing. On the landing roll, the pilot applied rudder to get the airplane onto the runway centerline, the foot of the occupant in the front seat was pressed onto the opposite brake peddle causing the airplane to react slowly. The harder the pilot applied the rudder, the harder the opposite brake was actuated. As the airplane started to depart the runway, the pilot said he applied left brake. Inertia caused the airplane to nose over. The pilot shut the airplane down and he and the passenger egressed from the inverted airplane.
On June 23,1998, about 1230 eastern daylight time, a Stroud Sky Bolt, experimental airplane, N2951C, veered off the right side of the runway and nosed over while landing at Twin Lakes airport in Mocksville North Carolina. The local flight was operating under the provisions of Title 14 CFR Part 91, and visual flight rules. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed. There were no injuries to the pilot or passenger, and the aircraft received substantial damage. The flight originated about 1150 EDT. According to the FAA, during landing on runway 09, the aircraft veered off the right side of the runway and flipped over. The inspector found a 300 foot skid mark made by the left main landing gear, and a 150 foot skid mark, made by the right main landing gear. The aircraft received substantial damage to the propeller, vertical stabilizer, rudder, and left wing. During the investigation, the FAA investigator found that when the occupant of the front seat put his feet in front of the landing gear strut bungee, and the person in the back seat (usually the person flying) applied left or right rudder, the front occupant's foot became jammed between the landing gear strut bungee attachment point and the rudder/brake peddle. This prompted inadvertent, full braking on the side opposite that of the applied rudder. According to the pilot, he applied right rudder to get the airplane onto the runway centerline, after he touched down to the left of center, the foot of the occupant in the front seat was pressed onto the opposite brake peddle causing the airplane to react slowly. As the airplane crossed the centerline the pilot applied left rudder to follow the track of the centerline. This had no effect, due to the inadvertent force being applied to the right rudder/brake pedal by the passenger, and the airplane continued off the right side of the runway. The harder the pilot applied the rudder, the harder the opposite brake was actuated. As the airplane started to depart the runway, the pilot said he applied left brake in a final attempt to steer the aircraft back onto the runway. Inertia caused the airplane to nose over. The pilot shut the airplane down and he and the passenger egressed from the inverted airplane.
The pilot's loss of directional control during landing roll when the front seat occupant inadvertently got his foot 'jammed' between the strut bungee and the rudder/brake peddle. A factor was the inadequate design of the rudder/brake peddle system.
Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database
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