Bellanca 17-30A N727DC

Summary

On 25 September 1998 at about 19:30 local time, a Bellanca 17-30A registered N727DC was involved in an accident near Alpine, Texas, United States. One person was on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

25 September 1998 at 19:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Alpine, Texas, United States

Nearest airport

Terlingua Ranch Airport (1E2)

Coordinates

30.3603, -103.6595

Aircraft

Bellanca 17-30A

Registration

N727DC

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Ozona → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

FTW98LA418

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's failure to maintain directional control of the airplane for undetermined reasons. A factor was the loose gravel composition of the runway.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

The 2,752 hour commercial pilot lost directional control of the single engine airplane after the nose landing gear tire made contact with the runway following a normal landing on the 80 foot wide gravel runway. The pilot reported that as soon as the nose wheel touched down, the airplane started to pull to the left and he was not able to control the airplane by applying opposite brake, rudder or nose wheel steering. Physical examination revealed that the airplane touched down left of centerline and the left wing collided with mesquite bushes alongside the left edge of the runway. The pilot stated that he suspected that the steering rod or the steering collar for the nose wheel steering had failed. The pilot stated that he was told by a person from the recovery crew that recovered the wreckage, that the steering collar rod was fractured. The nature of the fracture was not determined and the report from the recovery crew could not be confirmed due to the sale of the wreckage. The gravel on the runway was very loose and one of the pilots compared the feeling of operating the airplane in loose gravel as if the airplane was riding on ball bearings.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.